My husband deals in myths. One of the myths which surrounds him, and which he takes great pains to perpetuate, is that he is Mickey Mouse at heart - shy, gullible, henpecked. Walt is always telling people how henpecked he is. Last summer, appearances seemed to support him when he took five women to Europe with him - me; our two daughters, Diane and Sharon; a school friend of Diane's; and our niece. But it was all his own idea, and he loved it. I was the only one who had trouble. By the time we landed back on American soil, what with two months of counting noses and luggage, I was a wreck. A sharp young reporter asked me, "Aren't you nervous, Mrs. Disney?" And I, who have made a career out of not talking to the press, fixed everything up fine by answering, "Who wouldn't be, married to Walt Disney?"
I never expect to live down that remark. It is going to be one of those stories about poor Lilly (my maiden name was Lillian Bounds) that the whole family will tell and retell for years. So I must say, in protective explanation, that I wouldn't have missed one minute of the twenty-seven years I have been married to Walt Disney. I'm proud of my husband and what he has done - but I'm even prouder that along the way, in bad times and good, he has never lost his sense of humor or his zest for life.
[…]
