Mythical

Why are mythical creatures and " other- worldly " creatures so fascinating to me? I especially find the imaginative dragon lore very compelling reading( oddly, I usually don't care much for reptilian or serpentine traits).Partly, I am enthralled, because I was born in the Chinese year of the dragon(1952). I first heard "Puff the Magic Dragon", sung by Peter, Paul and Mary when I was around 9 years old. I fantasized that I could have a pet dragon, and it would be benign, manageable and loyal.( I didn't know until much later that this song supposedly had veiled references to marijuana smoking.)The adversarial dragon doesn't appeal to me, nor the story line where the hero slays the evil creature, e.g., Bilbo Baggins or St. George. I do like the Eragon stories and the dragons of "Ice and Fire" and "Harry Potter "; they're deadly but somewhat controllable by their "master." I especially wish that I could ride them while they're flying, and for that matter, I would have loved to have ridden on Pegasus' back or Aslan's back or Chiron's back. Another mythical creature that appeals to me is the mermaid/ merman( the only concept that I appreciated about the disastrous " Waterworld"). Now this is going to sound profane, but when I was younger I thought it would be wonderful to mate with an angel.I know that is why I loved the movies with John Travolta as Michael and Nicholas Cage as Seth.( insert pregnant pause - no pun intended- here.) I also would like to meet aliens and hope they are benevolent not malevolent. All of the aforementioned contribute to my extreme interest in science fiction, fantasy and mythology. I have many friends,family and colleagues, however, who dislike those genres. To each her own, but I feel my imagination is the richer for it.