PARK CITIES PEOPLE 2A I .

JUNE 13,2008

.I used to sing Apparently my daughter . ~UlLETIN FROM THE BUBBl.E

Da Doo Ron· and her posse, the future
Ron into inyJonas Brothers brides, had
h air b r u s h pictured something less
wit h a li fe - structured, a bit more like
sized poster of the set of High School
Breaking the Disn~
Merritt
Patterson
ShaunCassidy Musical. Not only were
hanging in the they saddened by the news.
background. I of assigned seats in the'
hoped that one lunchroom, they were dis- .
.Curse
day I would live the life of turbed by thelack of areas
a Hollywood preteen occa- ill the building designed to
sionally solving a mystery shout cheerful greetings to
The whi~ horse, shining knight,'
with the Hardy Boys. friends over stairwells and
That never happened and' burst into synchronized
here lam, still wafting for dancing in hallways wide
the moment that I sit down enough for human pyra-
and Zac Efron movies
to write a column while mids and choreographed
music, paced to the speed routines including gym-
of my typing, plays and' nastic stunts. Reality set
animated songbirds circle. in when they noticed the
my laptop. So I completely classrooms were filled -pri-
have nothing on the bubble
understood my daughter's marily With students meet-
disappointment when a few 'ing state mandated criteria
weeks before school was for the grade level. Reality
out, her class took a tour bites. It just does. .
of McCulloch Intermediate Where were the jockssit-
School, the fall 2008 aca- ting on top of their desks
demic destination. cracking jokes? It had all

been alie, fumbled on the words. I bottle of wine, exhausted

, My heart ached for the
girls, they were Just inno-
cent little Disney addicts
with only one summer to
recover, or the curse would
last a lifetime. It was all up
to me, which was unfor-
In 25 years, you'll be sitting at a
bus stop in a crumpled wedding
gown clutching a bottle ofwine,
,exhausted from vour search~ for' ..:
that bright, shining day when
your life will turn into a feel-good
musical.
tunatebecause my magic
wand was on the fritz.
While they ate snacks, I
tried to explain how things
- Were not: really like the
~hows they watch. But I just
realized that explaining the from your.search for that
thing about those shows bright, .shining day wheri
not being real is more dif- vour life will. turn into a
ficult than The Talk, so dif- feel-good musical. , remember that Mr. Right
ficult that I chickened out. , See, life is not .a Hannah will not be the one engag-
But what I wanted to say, Montana episode, it's more ing the rest of the varsity
was very profound. like a super twisted mix basketball team in a sassy
of Desperate Housewives, hip-hop routine.
In the real world, you
Leave it to Beaver, Sex
in 'the City; and Survivor. have to get, an education.
MIS will be fun but they
Don't get me wrong, life
is fabulous, but it never have to teach some math,
gets -all tied up in a 'bow too. And the truth is, the
li.ke you're envisioning. school they attend on The
Suite Life ofZack and Cody
.
It's a process" and you
learn it as you go. For now 'would never cut it for The
you' just need to know University of Texas; not'
even ifyou were in the top
this:
, In re alTife, the boys . 10 percent of your class.
'Lots of girls start out
would never willingly join
ill a jovial jig through the
with
dream,
the
put
bubble gum rock
only a few get
school hallways, especially
in front of their friends. to live life ina real bubble ..
Girls,
I'm afraid if I don't tell And Zac Efron may be a The Park Cities is the next
you this now, in 25 'years, heartthrob now but you'll ' best thing, .ernbrace it and
dream big. The real thing'
you'll be sitting at a bus have differenf criteria
stop in a crumpled wed- when it's time to get mar- often turns out better than
ding gown clutching a . ried. Kiss the poster and the Disney version .
More to come,
Mrs. Patterson