The Boy in the Microscope

Donna Drysdale as told to Chelsey Drysdale

In summer 1968, when we were almost nineteen, we had our first kiss on the Adventure Thru Inner Space ride at Disneyland. The ride purported to shrink people to smaller than an atom inside a giant artificial microscope, but as I sat next to the cutest boy I’d ever seen in real life, my buzzing atoms felt more expansive than ever. Earlier that day, the boy—who most likely wore Levi’s Button Fly jeans, a button-up, short-sleeved shirt with pin stripes, white socks, and black shoes—was nervous as we boarded the parking lot tram. This was my first date with him. This was his first date ever.