Some people are crazy-go-nuts for Disney. They had a “Disney Week” a month or so ago on the Wheel of Fortune. Some of these people go to the Disney theme parks several times a year. Heck, one woman named her kids after Disney characters.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Disney movies, and I’ve been to Disney World a few times. Gosh, those Seven Dwarfs. And those 101 Dalmatians? What’s not to love?
But my favorite? By far, it is Pluto. He’s part of the “Fab Five” of Disney. That would include Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and of course, Pluto. But he wasn’t created to be an anthropomorphic character like the others. Which means. He doesn’t have human characteristics, like talking or wearing clothes, etc., as the other four do.
When Disney first created him in a short film in 1930, the dog didn’t have a name. Then, the next time around in a film, he was Minnie’s dog, and she called him “Rover.” Well, Walt must have decided that would never do. When our good dog showed up the third time, he suddenly had the name Pluto, and now he was Mickey’s dog.
The creative team apparently kicked around a lot of names for him. But since the planet Pluto had just been discovered, they thought it might be a good name for a Disney dog. And Pluto it was. And is.
I can hardly think of one without thinking of the other.
Pluto the Dog.
Pluto the Planet.
Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention Pluto, the God of the Underworld, Death, and Riches. I don’t know if he was a nice fellow or not, but Pluto is the brother of the gods Jupiter and Neptune. They held some sort of lottery to split up the dominion of the universe. Well, Pluto must have drawn the short stick because he wound up with the Underworld.
Pluto’s Greek name is Hades. Yep. Hades. He is considered the wealthiest god because the ground was so rich in minerals and precious metals. Also, this was all in Greek mythology. In Ancient Roman culture, Pluto was the god of mortality and riches but also the god of death and the underworld.
On another note, if you are walking around today. His symbols are the barn owl, serpents, and the cypress tree.
So why so much Pluto? It’s all for good reason because, on this date, February 18, 1930, an American astronomer named Clyde Tombaugh discovers the planet Pluto.
It was a planet back then. This whole dwarf planet classification is a travesty if you ask me.
Anyway, Clyde William Tombaugh was born on February 4, 1906. He stayed on this planet until January 17, 1997. Well. Technically, he is still here. Somewhere. He was cremated.
But part of Clyde went up in space. A small portion of his ashes was placed aboard the New Horizons spacecraft. The container bears the inscription: “Interred herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto and the Solar System’s ‘third zone.’ Adelle and Muron’s boy, Patricia’s husband, Annette and Alden’s father, astronomer, teacher, punster, and friend: Clyde W. Tombaugh (1906–1997).
Up there. Somewhere.
He died by the time “they” decided Pluto wasn’t massive enough to be a planet. So now, “they” say, we have eight planets in our solar system. I’m just kind of glad for Clyde that they didn’t declassify his planet while he was still alive. He seemed like a really good guy. A smarty.
So there we have it. Pluto day.
One name.
Three different existences.
Good dog.
Good planet.
Good god.
Oh, good god. It is a big world out there.
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“Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”
— Carl Sagan
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“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ”
– Roger A. Caras
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“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
― Epictetus
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Three for one on Pluto Day.
