In one room, there are these presidential busts that were carved for the Hall of Presidents animatronic attraction at Walt Disney World. Here's a picture:
I've never been to WDW so I haven't seen this, but I imagine it's just like the Haunted Mansion busts at Disneyland that "talk" and "sing." There are busts for every president, from Washington to Obama. This picture doesn't do them justice -- they look better in person!
So as we were standing there, I saw this boy counting the busts. I couldn't help but notice him because he had a LOUD voice, and I guessed about the same age as my students -- 9 or 10.
He was becoming increasingly agitated the more he counted. "...41...42...43."
"MOM!" he finally shouted. "There are only 43 busts but the sign says that Reagan was the 40th president! I think they made a mistake."
His mother agreed with him -- there probably had been a mistake, she said. I silently wondered if she was just agreeing with her son to get him to stop, or if the woman really thought that a mistake had been made in this obviously very expensive exhibit!
"BUT WHYYYYY, MOM? WHYYYY????" the boy whined. "I'm going to count it again. 1...2...3.." The boy counted again, and again counted 43 busts. I started to chuckle, and resisted my teacher urge to jump in and explain to the boy how Grover Cleveland had served as president twice, non-consecutively. I held back, however, as I was certain that his parents would say something.
But the didn't. "MOM! IT'S STILL ONLY 43! WHYYYY????"
His mother then said, "Oh! Wait! I know why!" She then turned to her husband and asked him, "Didn't one of those presidents get killed while in office?"
"Yes," he replied. "It was John F. Kennedy. He was assassinated."
The mother then turned back to the boy and said, "That's what it is! John F. Kennedy got killed, so he is probably not up there."
"OH!!!" exclaimed the boy. "That makes sense."
(Note: Yes, JFK is in the picture up above...and yes, there were other presidents who got killed, too....).
I wasn't sure whether to laugh....or whether to cry.....because I am an educator in this country.....wow.





