A grandmother is a mother who has a second chance

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Let's all go to the movies!

I love movies. Old black and whites, sci-fi, good dramas. Whatever. Movies have always been a large part of my life and, I must admit, I love the fact that my daughter is also addicted. As was my mom. It's sort of a family thing.

The other day I was talking with a friend about movies we'd seen in the past and I remember a few that are memorable for me - not just because of the movie, but because of the "going to the movies" event itself.

First movie I remember is Cinderella - my dad took me. We had a daddy/daughter date which was very special and that movie always brings a smile to my face.

When I was in high school, my friend, Ina, and I decided to go to a double feature at the Fox Theater in downtown Tucson. There were these two new movies that had come out and both were musicals so we thought that would be fun. The movies were The King and I and Carousel. If you've ever seen them, you know that tears will be shed. We didn't. We had one kleenex between us which we split down the middle and tried to use for both movies. When that kleenex was destroyed, I stupidly used my napkin. Yup, the one I had been using to wipe my salty popcorn fingers. Salt in eyes is not a good thing.

During my college days, we often went to the movies in a group. One of these trips we got a bit of a late start and wound up in the first row of the theater. You know, the row where you have to sit with your held tilted back to see much of anything. And the movie? Grand Prix. A car racing movie. I had motion sickness for three days.

Another college movie outing was to see Repulsion - a scary black and white with Catherine Duneuve (I think). I was the driver that night. The movie scared the crap out of us and, afterwards, when we arrived at our initial meeting point, I realized that I had driven the whole five miles without turning on my headlights! Tucson was pretty small back then, but apparently there were enough street lights for me to see because I didn't even realize the headlights were off. Last time the group let me drive.

When my kids were young, the lines in Tucson for a new movie could get quite long. So, when one of the Rocky movies came out (I think it was #2), Joe and Jen wanted very much to be first in line. That meant we had to get to the theater a couple of hours early. So we picked up some Happy Meals and headed out. Since it was a nice warm day, we were able to sit on the sidewalk in front of the theater and enjoy our lunch. We WERE first in line! Even wound up on tv when a reporter was doing a story on the crowds at the theater. Great memory.

About 10 years ago, I don't remember the movie but a nice man sat down next to me and we chatted a bit before the show started. Either he had narcolepsy or a rough night because he kept falling asleep! And, each time he'd wake up, he'd lean over and say, "What happened?" Probably why I don't remember the movie.

Do you have any special movie memories?

7 comments:

namaste said...

i LOVE the kind and i. and two other all time favs of mine are grease and west side story.

;)

ba and the boys said...

my first movie was one of the 'love bug' movies. i went with my dad and i was amazed at the end that not only was it dark in the theatre but outside as well!
i remember walking to the small theatre in the small town we lived in to see star wars (was the 1st one, now called episode 4) for like a year after it had been released.
the good old days of only 1 movie per theatre...

Jenni said...

The tradition has definitely been passed on to Eamon and Vika as well.

It's Me said...

My teenage aunt took us to see the Exorcist at the drive-in. We promised NOT to tell my parents. HOwever, when we all got home and were crying from fright, we confessed. We all slept in mom and dad's bed that night!!!

Anonymous said...

I remember fondly the outdoor movies! So much fun!

carmella anderson said...

I want to Live " Susan Hayward
Imitation of Life" Lana Turner
Those two ladies I would watch for
ever. Loretta Young also.

Desert Diva said...

I remember the first large screen movie I watched was at the old Circle Theater in downtown Indianapolis. It was "The Commancheros" with John Wayne. My most memorable "drive-in" movie was "Soylent Green." (Soylent Green is people!) My favorite all time movie is "Annie Hall."