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I just finished reading A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book in the Game of Thrones series. Now I have to sit around and wait like everyone else to find out what happens to these poor, tortured people, but that’s beside the point. What the books got me thinking about, was dragons.
More specifically, all those things I thought were so cool as a kid and in my imagination, that might not be so awesome in real life. Number one among those being dragons. I mean, I read Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Rider books growing up, and I totally wanted to be able to 
ride a dragon around the sky. In reality, though, there would be all kinds of difficulties – finding enough food for a school bus-sized carnivore, the fire damage to the neighborhood, and dragon poop.
I always wanted to be a mage, too, long before Harry Potter made every kid want to be a witch or a wizard. Being able to stop it from raining, or zapping fireballs at drivers who cut me off, would be so cool – unless everybody had magic, in which case the weather would get totally messed up, and everybody’s car would be a flaming wreck.
Moving objects with my mind like a Jedi could be pretty handy too, in theory, anyway. I’d never have to trudge back upstairs when I forgot my favorite pen, because I could just wave a hand and it would fly off the desk and into my fingers. But if there were Jedi there would be Sith, and battling evil constantly would really eat into my writing and reading time.
Did you want to have a dragon when you were a kid? Did you ever wish you could see a real, live dinosaur? What thing, real or imaginary, did you want as a kid that maybe doesn’t seem so wise now?
47 Comments on “Abra Cadabra!!”
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I never wanted a dragon but I did want a unicorn and I want all the big cats. You know, just a pair of each big cat breed would be nice but then there is the feeding of each cat. Can you imagine how much it would cost to house and feed them? My cat Acheron is expensive enough.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 5:43 am.
Ooh, I wanted a pet lion, too. But you’re right, Kelly, that would have been pretty expensive. And dangerous. *g*
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:27 am.
Dragons and mages didn’t – and still don’t – interest me. What I wanted as a kid was to be a real princess, with parents that were a king and queen.
Of course I wouldn’t want this anymore, as I don’t envy the princes and princesses of this world. They are never allowed to do as they like and their lives are regulated by strict rules!
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 6:19 am.
Yep, Nickie, a princess is one of those things that sounds awesome when you’re a kid, but not so much now.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:28 am.
I think every girl who read Dragon Drums and Dragon Singer wanted a dragon.
Never wanted to see a dinosaur though, the idea of Jurrasic Park scared me more than a flock of flying monkeys.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 7:26 am.
LOL, Pesky. Flying monkeys — another idea that sounds good in theory, but not so much in practice.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:29 am.
I was very into unicorns as a kid. But I recently saw a Supernatural episode where someone was offed by one. Not so cool. Sharp. Pointy. Ouch.
Right now I would like to see a dragon. From far away behind fire proof glass. But still . . .
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 7:43 am.
I saw that episode, Lori — many childhood fantasies dashed in that moment. *g*
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:30 am.
My all-time favourite movie as a kid was Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Thing is, I wanted to be Maleficent, because she turned into that awesome dragon and I thought what could possibly be cooler that to be able to turn into a dragon. Of course, in my version Prince Charming was a delightful snack…
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 8:34 am.
Shape-shifting was high up on my childhood wish list too, Zita! But now I think of all the clothes I would have gone through every time I changed into a dragon or a wolf or something. ;->
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:31 am.
I never wanted to be a wizard or have a dragon, but I did want to be Jeannie (from “I dream of Jeannie”) and have a handsome man find me in the bottle. (Alas my romantic fantasies are rooted there) I always wanted the ability to blink and make it happen.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 8:44 am.
I love it, Lisa! Of course if it was me, I’d get something in my eye and blink a herd of elephants into the livingroom — always a downside.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:32 am.
I wanted to be able to fly like Peter Pan–that way, no one would ever catch me in freeze tag.
It’s the little things.
As dreams go, it’s a good one. I still can’t see a downside to flying. No poop clean-up detail. No feeding the dragon grocery bill.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 9:25 am.
What if you’re scared of heights or flying?
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 10:41 am.
Oh, Claudia, you naive fool. There’s always the air traffic from everyone else who wants to fly, plus tornadoes and the wreck your hair would be. *g*
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:34 am.
Oh, my gosh. Air traffic control. I am naive! But my hair is so short that nothing can mess it up! I planned ahead on that front.
I hate heights, but I wouldn’t be afraid of flying; it would be like being afraid of walking. When *you* can do it, it’s got to feel natural. Peter Pan seemed to be having a raucous good time.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 12:39 pm.
I can’t say that I wanted anything that was too far fetched. No unicorns, no dragons, no dinosaurs. But I did want a horse. Instead I got a pony. It threw me off the first time I rode it. Pony then went bye bye. Kelly then got a four wheeler that her father said was her red horse. Hhmmm. Close enough?
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 10:47 am.
LOL, Kelly. I’m actually thinking that might work. Less poop clean up from a 4×4.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:35 am.
When I was little, my imaginary world was made up of “tender-like” people, but there were no animals involved that I recall. Now I wouldn’t want to be a dinosaur, but would like to see one from a distance. Having seen dinosaur bones in my hometown museum as a kid, I used to imagine what they looked like roaming the earth although I never incorporated them into my pretend world.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 10:51 am.
Now YOU make sense, Donna. *g*
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:37 am.
I was the kind of kid who wanted to inhabit a Dr. Seuss world.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 10:54 am.
Oh, yeah, that sounds great, Julia, until… Hey, that does sound kind of cool.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:39 am.
My childhood fantasies were much more down to earth. I wanted to be a cowgirl. I was taught that magic did not exist, so I never got into any of that or the mage stuff. But a holster with guns—that really fired my imagination. On the rare occasions when a girl in a tv or movie western was like that, I was enthralled.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 12:15 pm.
Cowgirl sounds good on the surface, Madeline, but I don’t remember air conditioning in the Old West. Just sayin’.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 4:44 pm.
I wanted to live off the land on a desert island (ala Swiss Family Robinson) as a kid. But now I realize that means no TV and no internet. Doesn’t sound quite so appealing, does it? Plus, pizza is really hard to come by on desert islands. *G*
I also wanted to be a mermaid, but once again, there’s that no internet thing and definitely no pizza. I think I would get tired of eating fish.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 12:26 pm.
I’m glad you were sensible enough to think that whole desert island/mermaid thing through, Sabrina.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 4:47 pm.
Ever since I saw the original Universal movies, of Dracula,the Mummy, Frankenstein, as a child I have had a fascination with the paranormal. To me, the originals have always been the best.
Dragons: my favorites have been a book by Jo Walton called Tooth & Claw(2004) a total fantasy story of family dealing with the death of their father and his deathbed confession, inheritance, politics, courtship etc. The traditions of a society that believes in eating the weaker children and in eating the body of their deceased family members and all this involving everyone being a dragon.
Naomi Novik has a series of books, with Capt. Will Laurence & his dragon Temeraire, that are set in the Napoleonic Wars with warriors defending Britain in the skies on the backs of fighting dragons. His Majesty’s Dragon begins the series and the rest are:Crucible of Gold, Tongues of Serpents, Empire of Ivory, Victory of Eagles, Throne of Jade, Black Powder and in His Majesty’s Service.
I am looking forward to reading Deborah Harkness’ next book: Shadow of Night. I just want to know what has happened to Dana Bishop the Oxford Scholar/Witch and Matthew Clairmonth the geneticist/vampire and their time travel search for the Ashmole 782.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 1:07 pm.
I’ve heard of some of those, Elsie, but I’ll look the other ones up. Thanks for the reccs!
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 4:48 pm.
Did you want to have a dragon when you were a kid?
Yes.
Did you ever wish you could see a real, live dinosaur?
Yes.
What thing, real or imaginary, did you want as a kid that maybe doesn’t seem so wise now?
Fly. I’d still like to be able to transport myself all over the place.
Sigh.
Btw, the first ‘romance paranormal’ I ever read was Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight. I was DEEPLY in love with Flar and wanted to be Lessa so badly … such a terrific book. I think The White Dragon is my second favorite book by her.
I’m enjoying The Game of Thrones, too. Thanks for the rec! (Well, I thank you, but my deadline does not.)
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 1:27 pm.
I think Dragonflight was my first “adult” fantasy too, Karen! Only I was in love with F’Nor, F’lar’s half brother.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 4:51 pm.
When the film Jurassic Park came out I took my (then) young niece and nephew to see it. They loved it and chattered away about it later when their dad came to pick them up. They asked if something like that could really happen and we had an interesting conversation about the possibility of dinosaur DNA cloning. At the time I shared my home with a collection of reptile pets including a six foot iguana, a thirteen foot python and a five foot White throat monitor lizard named BIG. My brother’s comment on the discussions of dinosaur DNA ended with “God, I hope not. Your aunt would have a T-Rex in her pasture in a heartbeat!” I’m afraid he is probably right. I loved dinosaurs as a child and they still fascinate me. And I would love to have a dragon at my beck and call! Think of the home security aspects of a fire-breathing dragon! “Beware of Dragon! Trespassers Will Be Barbecued!”
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 1:42 pm.
It does sound good, except there would be all the police complaint calls and such. *g*
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 4:51 pm.
I wanted dragons and I have them. I have all kinds of dragons; cloth, glass, ceramic, resin, wood,ivory,metal, books, oil paintings,and holographic photos. I love my dragons and now I love my gargoyles too.I briefly wanted a Pegasus until I realized I didn’t have a place to keep one. The dragons are much easier because they just make a cave to sleep in and toasts anyone who annoys them.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 2:28 pm.
That’s the safer kind of dragon, evlqn!
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 5:05 pm.
Did you want to have a dragon when you were a kid?
Yes- but mostly I wanted a pet dolphin
Did you ever wish you could see a real, live dinosaur?
Yes, but only because I wanted friends like in the Land Before Time
What thing, real or imaginary, did you want as a kid that maybe doesn’t seem so wise now?
I wanted to be Batman
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 3:29 pm.
See…I keep saying…the quote is right.
Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman, always be Batman.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 5:50 pm.
A pet dolphin would have been AWESOME, Elizabeth. I don’t like eating fish, so I could pass them along to him/her.
I always wanted to be Tarzan. Hm. *g*
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 7:23 pm.
Growing up I was a big fantasy reader. Magician, sorceress, whatever you want to call it (except maybe witch, lol), I wanted to be it. I can’t remember how old I was when I read Piers Anthony’s Split Infinity, but I knew that I wanted to have a unicorn that used its horn as a flute. Then, there’s David Eddings’ Belgariad – change into another animal – sign me up!
I can’t say that I ever wanted to be a dinosaur, but in second grade, I sure wanted to see an alive one.
Oh, and I wanted to be small like a Little or Borrower; have a pet mouse who rode a motorcyle; live in a giant peach; have a glass elevator that could go anywhere.
But I can’t say that I ever wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder. I like indoor plumbing and electricity too much, lol.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 3:39 pm.
Janae, you sound like me as a kid. Being a Borrower would have been a death sentence around my house, though. Too many animals and small children. *g*
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 5:12 pm.
I wouldn’t have lasted long at my house either for the same reasons – too many children and cats.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 11:29 pm.
I don’t think I had a fantasy pet but I did want to have the ability to fly.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 4:27 pm.
I’m telling ya, Pamiam, if we all could fly the hairdressing industry would be the place to work. *g*
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 5:14 pm.
The first thing that comes to mind is princess. It seemed so glamorous when I was a kid, but with the glamor comes a total lack of privacy that would not be fun.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 4:48 pm.
Oh, I agree, Susan! Though the clothes would be some compensation, at least.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 5:15 pm.
I never wanted a dragon, but I definitely dreamed of being magical, having powers. My first novels (written by hand in colored ink on colored spiral notebook paper) all had some goal discovering she was secretly magical.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 6:55 pm.
Secretly magical and unappreciated by the world and family at large. Definitely, Barbara.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 7:24 pm.
Dragons didn’t capture my imagination like magical people like Mary Poppins did. I’m sure she’s why always carry a ridiculously overfull handbag.
Posted on June 22, 2012 at 9:03 pm.