THANKFUL FRIDAY

This week, I went to see a movie in a movie theater. It was the first time I’d been to a theater since December of 2019 and it was a lovely experience. Bittersweet and lovely. There was a time in my life where going to the movies was a weekly event. The theater in the small town where I grew up would play the same movie for two weeks and every Tuesday was dollar movie night. I went every Tuesday even if I had already seen the movie because that’s just what you did. This was one of the weekly social events like roller rink Thursdays and church on Wednesdays.

My first and only date with Chris took place at the drive-in movie theater in Chickasha. From that moment on, my movie going experience shifted from social event to interdisciplinary study. It was for entertainment and part of that entertainment was the study and discussion of the film being viewed. We dissected movies. Took apart scenes. Picked at the dialogue. There were multiple viewings of some movies and some movies that were so terrible that we wanted to walk out on. We never walked out because even the worst movies had discussion value for later. Going to the movie theater was an important part of that experience. We arrived early in order to pick the most advantageous seat. The previews were noted and whispered about. We stayed until the very end to watch all of the ending credits. All of this was not a special event, but a normal part our weekly lives.

My life is different now.

I thought I could wait for the new Wes Anderson film, The French Dispatch, to make its way to a streaming service, but the more I thought about it, I realized that I needed to see this movie right now. So I dragged my friend Heather to theater with me. Really, I didn’t have to drag her. She was a willing participant and even provided the giant purse for our Trader Joe’s snacks. As we settled into our seats and Heather stealthily handed over snacks, I found myself getting wiggly with excitement. The ‘Let’s Go To the Movies’ song from Annie started playing in my head and I had to restrain myself from clutching Heather’s sleeve and exclaiming “WE’RE IN A MOVIE THEATER!” The trailers for the upcoming movies came on and one of them made me cry because I knew with my whole heart that if my life wasn’t different that movie would be the next one we’d be seeing in the theater and we’d see it many times. Then the movie started and I was inside the world of Wes Anderson and wondering what it would take to be part of one his worlds just for a minute.

Sure, going to the movies in the middle of the week kept me up past my bedtime, but it was one hundred percent worth it. For two and half hours, nothing else existed. There was no pandemic. There no thinking about couches or scooters. There was no pause button. My only task was to sit in the dark and absorb the words with visual aids. I had forgotten all about the joy and bliss of sitting in a theater. I had forgotten all about the thrill and excitement of seeing previews for things to come. Even now, I marvel at how quickly all of those feeling rushed back into my soul. I’m grateful to have the kind of friend who is into this kind of movie enough to go with me to the theater. I am grateful for those two and half hours of joy and bliss.

I am also grateful to have had a moment of something familiar from my life before.