A Glimpse at History

Since I have been accused of not considering World History or even modern History when I write my blog site even though it is mainly on the Civil War, I thought that left an open door for a more recent trivia fact about a modern Icon. Walt Disney. This is for you to decide for yourself and is being used as a basis upon which to make a point, that all history can be torn apart ,and validated research thought to be trivial on just about anything. Here is my subject in point!

The History Chanel Magazine wrote in February 2009  that they wanted to put to rest an urban legend that basically stated “Walt Disney is frozen and resides beneath the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction at Disneyland awaiting a new life.

According to their authoritative investigators including Barbara and David Mikkelson, who investigate stories just like this one and want to put to rest this myth. Their evidence shows that Disney was cremated after his death on Dec 15 1966, at the age of 65, and his urn placed at Forest lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California as their key proof  including the official death certificate, which is a legal and binding offical document.

Based on their research, I would draw that same conclusion!

However, while researching Cryonics in the year 1987 at the University of Eastern Michigan, I considered cryonics for my new family and myself upon our death, and went as far as to contact and obtain all of the legal paperwork and step by step instructions as to how to set up an estate upon our deaths to pay for our storage and our support upon our reawakening if and when that day came.

I will NOT divulge the company I went through or its location, but it was told to me by the (director?person in charge) again I will NOT give too much specifics here so that person cannot be tracked down. Cryonics is a very guarded society, in my opinion, and they have the right to be because of the skepticism. But that they had Walt Disney’s head/ brain because he was of the belief that scientists would be able to reproduce a body and place his brain in it, before they would be able to complete the repair process on an aged/diseased body. Therefore there were two ways to choose to be frozen and stored 1.whole body 2. head. Each choice came with a continuing cost that was covered through leaving the cryonic society an insurance policy naming them as the beneficiary for your storage and continued maintenance.

My point is that their information they found probably does exist…because Cryonics, even today, is not a widely accepted practice. And, he probably didn’t want someone to try and attempt to steal his head…much like the incident when criminals attempted to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln. All of those documents would still exist even if he was frozen, because there has to be a death certificate to get the Life insurance policy to pay the cryonic society. And, if he was of the belief that the head was the most important part to keep…then there would have been a body to cremate and place in California. It still would not fully prove he was not a cryonic society subscriber, again, in my opinion after having visited the IDEA of preparing for my future death. The education of this experience was interesting and rewarding ,and it helped me to appreciate its existance. But waking up someday, not knowing anybody scared me so much, i couldn’t do it.

For me, this urban myth still exists based on my experience in 1987 and their research has not changed my mind.  As a side note to my readers, this is a prime example of what I am always talking about….taking what other people research and evaluating it for myself and then choosing whether to do additional research on it, or if I already have, then do I choose to change my beliefs accordingly, or to remain steadfast to my own.

My choice in this matter is: I believe a piece of Disney exists, not in a park somewhere, but in a future Lab because Walt was a true visionary and a brave soul. Anyone who saw Walt Disney World, in its true glamour and form that exists today, when he looked at the mosquito infested swamps in Florida and pursued it against everyones advice, is not only a visionary, but a brave individual. One that could stand the test of time, and be fine, alone, in the future.

You can believe it or not…..I don’t care….I reported what I experienced first hand.  And with that Have a Historical Day!!!

Savannah

Filed under: Little known facts by Savannah Meade