The Jungle Cruise Philosophy of Life

As you can see by the picture, I did work at Disneyland when I went to college (1982-1985). I made a whopping $3.85 an hour BUT I got to work as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise attraction. I told jokes, guided people through the largest collection of plastic plants and animals ever assembled in one place and shot blanks at hippos!  It was one of the best jobs I ever had (except for working undercover). 

I was on the Cruise for two summers. One trip around the ride took ten minutes. It worked out to about four times an hour, 32 times a day, 160 times per week. Three months = 1,920 trips for the summer. I told the same jokes, saw the same animation and liked it!

One busy, summer day with the park attendance at around 50,000, I found myself working crowd control for people who wanted to go on the ride. I was amazed that the line extended well past the ride entrance, beyond the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and started at the Pirates of the Caribbean. (All the geography is for you Disney fans!) Looking at the mass of people, I realized this, "No matter how busy the park is, you can only take thirty around in the boat at a time."

This revelation became The Jungle Cruise Philosophy of Life. I share this with workmates that are overwhelmed, overworked or stressed out trying to do their job. It is really a way to have perspective when things seem to be tough all over.

Keep this in mind in the busyness of the Christmas season. The decorations will get up, the presents will be wrapped, the turkey will get cooked. Consider that the birth of Jesus happened in the midst of crowds trying to get hotel rooms! 

Luke 2:1-5 “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."

Bethlehem was full of travelers. The line to get in stretched down Main Street, past the market and to the city limit sign. I think people were so busy attending to their own needs that they missed the chance to be present at the birth of Jesus. The busyness of the census did not stop one of the most significant events in the history of the world!

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”