Members of the Same Club

Want a sure-fire way to get GrandBoy up and dancing around the room? Find Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on-demand and wait for the Hot Dog song finale. Once Mickey and crew start flapping their arms and kicking their legs, it's hard for a little guy (or his GrandMary) to sit still. And, boy, does that Hot Diggity Dog song stick in your mind! That tune, plus Minnie's little prissy dance. So we sing and dance (more like Goofy than Minnie) and wear ourselves out trying to keep up with the Clubhouse gang.

Now, believe it or not, GrandBoy and GrandMary belong to the same club. Which club, you ask? Why, the Mickey Mouse Club, of course. It's just that the club is a little different from the one I joined as a child. First of all, they've invented color since the original Mouseketeers came on the scene in the 1950s. (OK, not color, but color TV.) And the clubhouse is way cooler now, thanks to computer animation and whiz-bang technology. I wish my living room would rotate out to reveal a great kitchen. Ah, well.

Also, they've ditched the Mouseketeers altogether. 'Nary a one in sight. There were a couple of iterations in the 70's and 90's - and, yes, I know that Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Christina Whats-Her-Name were the most recent wearers of mouse-ears (did they wear ears?) - but none compared to Annette and crew. I'm thinking Disney felt the same, so gone are real live Mouseketeer kids. Mickey, Donald, Minnie, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto run the show now.

But never mind. When GrandBoy calls out for Mouse, it's clear he's a card-carrying Mickey Mouse Club Member, just like I was. Am. So I happily join in the Hot Dog Song and dance. 

Still, I do miss the Mickey Mouse Club "alma mater" that ended the original show. So serious. Pledging our loyalty to the Mouse and each other. No wonder I'm still a member. Hot dog!