But I didn’t let my old man see me crying. I wasn’t gonna give him the pleasure. The whole drive home, I gritted my teeth and tried to make myself believe that it could still happen someday, if only to spite my father, that one day in the not-so-distant future, if I hoped hard enough, I might still gain entrance to the Happiest Place on Earth.”
-- Mike (Section 1)

Importance: Mike's relationship with his father always served as a source of pain and rejection in his life. When he is tricked about going to Disneyland, Mike realizes at an early age that he will never be able to depend on his father to be a safe place for him. He will have to do everything in his power to make the kind of life he always wanted even though it will be more difficult without somebody older to guide him.

I’d...
-- Mike (Section 1)