Select Page

Honah Lee or What fictional town in pop culturedom would you like to visit?

Puff, the magic dragon
Lived by the sea.
And frolicked in the autumn mist
In a land called Honah Lee…

Puff the Magic Dragon Record

Off to Honah Lee. 45 RPM of Puff the Magic Dragon. Only 39¢

This week’s assignment for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers is to write a post about a trip I’d like to take anywhere in pop culturedom. What fictional town, time, or world would I like to visit?

I love this assignment. Many ideas came to mind, including many places mentioned in songs. Some towns and landmarks are fictional and some are not. For example, the northern town mentioned Dream Academy’s Life In A Northern Town is a place in pop culturedom I’d love to visit, but it’s actually a real place, West Yorkshire. By the way, that was one of my favorite blog posts, and unfortunately, only two people read it. 😉

I also thought of the reservoir in Springsteen’s The River, however, I’m pretty sure it’s not fictional. In fact, I think I already visited it. It’s that dry river bed in southeast Kansas, which I visited a few times in high school with Joe and Jamie. These adventures were far more innocent than they sound.

I also thought of the fictional neighborhood of New Zoo Revue fame. It would be a blast to hang out with Henrietta Hippo and Freddie the Frog. (And you gotta click that link. It’s a post about the New Zoo Revue talking to kids about sperm. Those were crazy days, Gen Xers.)

So, I guess if I really could visit any place in pop culturedom it would be Honah Lee, the fictional land made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary in Puff the Magic Dragon.

When I was seven years old, something happened that pretty much changed the course of my life in ways I did not fully realize until I had children of my own. Puff the Magic Dragon helps me remember to some small degree the way things were before this event, and it reminds me of the way life was after it.

Memory is exercise. Since the 2007 arrival of my youngest daughter Bridgette, I have been able to recall a lot of really wonderful memories before the age of seven. Watching her grow up these last five years has been such a positive experience for my “emotional brain.” Watching her play and live out her little adventures has lit up my olfactory bulb. My amygdala has been accessing data in files long-since buried beneath the burden of unfortunate events.


Another Puff album

It’s as if there are two files for Puff and Jackie Paper; painted wings and Honah Lee. There’s the file before the age of seven and a different file for the years that followed. I’d love to visit the Honah Lee represented in that first file. Who wouldn’t want to ride on a giant dragon tail in a place marked by billowed sails and autumn mist?
In the fall of 1986, Noel Paul Stookey did a concert at my first alma mater, Southern Nazarene University. He performed many wonderful songs including El Salvador, but he closed with Puff the Magic Dragon. Two things happened simultaneously that night. The world narrowed, while the possibilities became unlimited.
What fictional place in pop culturedom would you like to visit?
Gen X Blog Jennifer Chronicles

Thank you for subscribing. Posts are delivered ONCE A WEEK on Sundays at 6 p.m. You can unsubscribe anytime with one click. Also, we will not share your email address with anyone.
Posted in:

7 Comments

  1. ToB

    Yes, the original latchkey superheroes. I find it ironic that Boomer editors have erased these characters’ entire 80s and 90s history which made them so special to many real life Gen X latchkey teens. And the editors have made Boomer-era heroes younger and the primary focus of current stories in comicdom. Gen X level editors and creators are either bought off to comply with Boomer editorial mandates or they lose their jobs if they don’t. Geeky? Sure. But even in our arrested development fantasy worlds, Gen Xers get stepped on by Boomer bosses.

  2. Victoria

    Thanks so much for linking me, Jen! I’ll edit my post so I can link back! 😀

    http://www.henchgirl.net

  3. Andi Fisher

    I might go to the lands in the stories of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe – I read those books over and over – I made the mistake of seeing the first movie which ruined it for me and I vowed to see the other movies!

  4. Jennifer

    I think both are great choices! Teen Titans!

  5. ToB

    Whoops, you said ‘town,’ and Tamaran is a fictional planet, so I’ll go with another big GenX pop culture locale: Azarath.

  6. ToB

    From a different corner of GenX pop culturedom: Tamaran. Hence my avatar name…

  7. Jennifer

      Those books were such a guilty pleasure for me!

Pin It on Pinterest