The Magic Kingdom

By: Colleen Wolfe

Disney World. Every child’s dream, right? Larger than life castles, six-foot Donald Ducks, amusement rides galore, and who can forget the Magic Kingdom? Michael and Carol Nailor sure couldn’t, and that is why they left the suburban paradise of Horsham, Pennsylvania and settled in the wonderland of America—Orlando, Florida.

The Nailors lived practically three steps from my home; I can even remember the way the inside of their house was decorated and continually smelled of chocolate chip cookies. The fire was always burning and some type of Frank Sinatresque song was floating through the house.

Carol was always home and Mike was usually at work. Their son Shane was only a few years younger than me and we always went sledding down their driveway because it was undeniably the steepest hill in the neighborhood.

Carol and Mike moved to Maryland when I was seven-years-old because Mike’s job at an insurance company was relocated to Annapolis. Postcards and letters would arrive at our house every so often, but after awhile Carol and Mike were forgotten, along with the chocolate chip cookies.

Locating the Nailors was a story in itself, but after calling six wrong Michael Nailors, I finally found the Horsham-natives residing in Orlando Florida.

Michael Nailor from… Hog’s Foot, North Carolina, Middle of Nowhere, Georgia, and Who Knows Where, New Jersey proved to be the creepiest cream of the crop; however, once I contacted the “real” Carol and Mike, the Floridians, in addition to Shane, had Stephanie, 11, and Andrew, 10. Not to mention their two Labradoodle dogs, Buckets and Nails.

Shane, now 18-years-old, is a freshman at Arizona State University, majoring in business, Stephanie is now in sixth grade, and Andrew in fifth. The Nailors moved from Maryland, to Virginia, and finally to Orlando, Florida where Michael works as a partner in a Nissan dealership and Carol is a substitute teacher at St. Basil Elementary School.

A member of club lacrosse and Alpha Beta Lambda at ASU, Shane is extremely involved in university activities and plans on becoming an orientation leader at ASU for Fall 2008. Stephanie is an avid artist and plays the piano at her parent’s request (or so it seems). And finally, Andrew is the “family trouble-maker”. Andrew likes to skateboard and disobey his parents (remember, this is straight from the mouth of the Mr. and Mrs.).

The Nailors are planning a first time trip to Europe, more specifically, France and Italy, in three weeks for 10 days to go wine tasting, sight seeing, and get away from work and their kids for a few days of peace. “Even a day away from work and Orlando would be like heaven right now,” said Mike exasperated from long hours and lack of sleep.

“We are so excited to see a new culture, and history so incredibly older than what we have in America, I think it will be like nothing we have ever done before,” said Carol Nailor referring to their long-awaited vacation.

So although Orlando may be the land of fairly tales, there still exists some characters anxious for their “big break”—whether that is a chance to succeed or a chance to break away, the Magic Kingdom will remain a special place for kids of all ages, meaning something different for everyone.