Pure Disney fun reigned next door at Pepsi-Cola. I recall the walkways that threaded up and over the artificial river to the boat-loading area. Even outside the music played over and over, endlessly. "It's a Small World" became legendary after the Fair and the Pavilion was probably one of Walt Disney's high spots. The boats passed by hundreds of singing and dancing dolls from many cultures, all singing the theme song. It was only a 10 minute ride but it was lots of fun for all! Outside was the tall, tangled Tower of the Four Winds, which had hundreds of moving pieces that tinkled and moved in the wind.

Next Schaefer presented a large glass-enclosed restaurant with an indoor fountain. I also remember seeing the longest bar in the world outside with a beer garden adjacent. Next to Schaefer was the landmark Kodak Pavilion with its unmistakable undulating suspended roof with a lunar landscape at one end. There were great photographic opportunities on the roof with all the observation areas and all the spires and domes resembling the lunar surface. A small theater on the roof was under the largest dome. Dominating over all was the main tower with four huge color photos depicting scenes from everyday life. Underneath the roof were myriad exhibits on photography including a model of the Tiros Weather Satellite at one end. But the star attraction here was the Tower Theater, where one of the two star films at the Fair was shown - "The Searching Eye." I still have impressions of that haunting, beautiful film, depicting the world as seen through a child's eyes - my eyes! This was a lovely film which will always be remembered.

A uniquely-designed Pavilion on the Main Mall was the Tower of Light - a building totally constructed of prism shapes. I recall minimal lines here. In 1964 Reddy Kilowatt hosted us on a ride through electricity generation on a great turntable with seats. The show was changed in 1965 to provide a tour through a year's worth of major holiday celebrations. Both shows were great and memorable. I especially have fond impressions of the original Reddy Kilowatt show. In the center of the pavilion were the great searchlights which each evening shot a "tower of light" way into the sky. I recall how cold this part of the Pavilion was.

Finally, next to the Tower of Light, was the Johnson's Wax Pavilion where the best film of the Fair was shown. I recall long lines all the time circling up the ramps to the Golden Rondelle "floating" theater, suspended from the Pavilion's soaring arches. The film, "To be Alive!", was an instant classic. I recall being deeply affected by some aspects of the film. It depicted all ages of life from birth through youth to adult to death. The title summed it up so well - "To be Alive!" Oh, how that film sums up all that was so memorable for me during those magical years of 1964 and 1965, when I was 11 and 12, with my whole life ahead. I was so "alive" then - the future was attainable (no doubt about that!) and all would be right with the world. That was the message the Fair attempted to put across and it did, so effectively that I will always remember those days in Flushing Meadow.

As the lights came on all across the Fairgrounds and we moved toward the exit for the last visit in 1965, I was so sad and upset. I wanted to remain there forever soaking up the magic of the lighted fairyland all around me - from the mysterious IBM ovoid, to the glimmering GM Futurama to the Glass Rotunda for Ford, to the floating wing of Bell - these were all wonders of a lifetime. As we pulled away and I saw the lights and pavilions disappear, I knew I had begun to enter the real world and leave part of my childhood behind forever.