Story Behind the Sword in the Stone Banner

When I was young, my parents scrimped and saved for everything.  They worked hard to put my sister and I through 12 years of private school.  At one point, they each had 2-3 jobs.  My mother went to college at night.  My dad was at work before I even woke up for the day.  With all of that, I still can’t believe they managed to give me an awesome childhood.  You know how they did it?  With the help of Disney.

My parents couldn’t afford to buy the newest VHS every time a movie was released, so my dad got creative.  Every time the “Disney Sunday Movie” or the “Wonderful World of Disney” would air, my dad would bust out his HUGE video camcorder, connect it to the VHS player, and record the movie of the night.  He would sit there during the whole show, pause the machine when it would go to commercial, and press record when the show was back.  There are 40+ VHS cassettes in the garage right now, with hundreds of hours of Disney shows and movies that I watched over and over again as a kid!  He did that for me.  He didn’t have to.  He could’ve used that time to rest, or catch up on sleep, or even watched his own shows (it was his tv, after all!).  Instead, he sat through every Duck Tales episode, every Christmas special, and every animated movie that hit the airwaves – for me.

The one VHS I remember watching more than any other was The Sword in the Stone.  I know and adore every line, every scene, every character of this movie.  My mom can even recite lines from it because she would always hear it in the background. 

This banner is one of my favorites so far.  The simplicity of the lines and shapes encompasses uncomplicated nature of the story.  However, for me, it’s more than that.  It reminds me of a simpler time, when I would just sit in front of the TV and watch Arthur pull the sword from the stone.  Sometimes my dad would be there too, probably napping on the recliner.  My mom would sometimes recite the line “It’s Bewitched!” from the kitchen, while she’s cleaning. 

There is magic to this simple story.  There is a hope for people that work hard; they can actually do great things.  My parents worked hard for my sister and I.  They were able to give us happy childhoods, despite the constant work and small budget.  They encouraged imagination and creativity - that's the magic they gave us.  My parents are my "Merlin” and “Archimedes"; my educators, my encouragement, my biggest fans. 

I could only hope to grow up to be their "King Arthur".