I met Jim Galaz in the area of the Murfreesboro square today. It was interesting talking to him about his memories growing up.
“I was born in 1955, the same year that Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California,” he told me. With a smile he continued, “My father did construction there and he told me that no one was allowed to have a mustache because Mr. Disney had one.”
The $17 million theme park was built on 160 acres in Anaheim. It first opened in July of 1955. At the time, the famous Walt Disney was 54 years old and Mr. Galaz was not even one.
Stepping back further to 1928, Walt Disney introduced the nation to the famous cartoon “Steamboat Willy” starring “Mickey Mouse.” The film made history for several reasons, one because the world met the big eared mouse for the very first time. It was also the first time for a cartoon to come with sound. I guess you could say, the rest is history.
Back to Mr. Galaz… He is so proud of his children and grandchildren. In fact, they are the reason for his move to Middle Tennessee. He wanted to be closer to his daughter Shannon and his grandson Maximus who goes by the nickname of Max.
Max was born with Cytomegalovirus or Congenital CMV. Children born with CMV often have health issues like hearing or vision loss, an enlarged liver, central nervous system damage and more. About 1 in 150 children are born with CMV every year. The problems can lead to long term health issues in about 20 out of every 100 babies born with CMV.
“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.” Walt Disney (1901-1966)