[img]7|left|Frédérik Sisa||no_popup[/img] When I first went to Disney’s California Adventure shortly after it opened, my enthusiasm weighted down somewhat by early mixed reviews, the first question I had was: Why does Southern California need a California-themed park? Whatever answer I could have come up with was soon set aside. While maybe not quite on par with Disneyland, California’s Adventure had a certain charm while offering its share of fun rides – even one that took a place among my favourites: Soarin’. While my wife and I had annual passes, we became wizards at using the FastPass to go on our favourite rides at California Adventure without missing out on our favourite rides at Disneyland.
But something kept nagging at me. Oh, sure, there was a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Beach Boys playing over the loudspeakers. Yet it still felt like something was missing. Then it occurred to me: California Adventure needed a statue of Huell Howser to greet guests. A big, larger-than-life statue – preferably golden.
Better yet, instead of that insufferable piece of cinematic propaganda (“Golden Dreams”), they could have played episodes of California’s Gold. Wouldn’t that be something? Tourists especially – we residents just need to tune in to PBS – could get a glimpse of all those cool places in California we wouldn’t hear about if Mr. Howser didn’t hit the road to find them.
The Ultimate Counter-Programming
In an election year that is now entering its second decade, programs like California’s Gold or Visiting with Huell Howser strike me as the ultimate in counter-programming to all the negativity and conflict. With a technical simplicity – a mic and a camera – that also offers respite from the splashy graphics and expensive, in-your-face productions of other shows, Mr. Howser does succeed, as he sets out to, in keeping the focus on the rich, personal stories that make up the State of California. He serves as the lens through which we get a second, unexpected look at the gold we have right here in our own backyard.
His enthusiasm and seemingly endless positivity may be easy to parody, as Mark S. Allen recently did on Good Morning Sacramento. And let’s be honest: it is rather impressive in-and-of-itself how Mr. Howser can get excited over things the rest of us gloss over so easily. Yet it is that boundless and infectious enthusiasm that makes Mr. Howser and what he does all the more vital. If we all shared in even a fraction of the wonder Mr. Howser possesses, we might very well be altogether happier. Certainly, celebrating and exploring California’s natural beauty and cultural diversity is a lot better for the spirit than yet another unproductive argument about this or that hot button issue.
As politics get ickier and the writers’ strike continues, impacting many of the TV shows we’ve come to enjoy, how about taking a break from it all and tuning in to PBS for one of Mr. Howser’s numerous shows? It’s hard to beat shows that are educational, entertaining, and even uplifting.
And Disney, how about that statue?