Skip to main content

small town america

only in my small town could you have the experience i did last night!!

a friend and i always try to get together for our birthdays..well summer went by before we had a chance to celebrate hers. so a movie we had been wanting to see, becoming jane, arrived in our small town theater. you know...the old downtown local ones!!

so last night we met downtown at a local mexican restaurant. it is soooo yummy and i'm blessed to have authentic mexican here in town. we finished the supper and at 7 walked the 2 minutes down the street to the theater. we noticed the marquis lights were off and wondered if they were closed tonight. we arrived to find the elderly lady that owns it getting out of the ticket booth. we knocked on the window and asked for 2 tickets.

she replied, "noone was here at 7:00 so we closed down."

what.....it is only 7:02??? i mean don't most people arrive a few minutes late so they don't have to sit through 25 minutes of previews. so we gave her our best sad looking faces and turned to walk away. we stopped just a few steps away and just looked at each other. i know we were both thinking this is insane and i don't really want to go home to the kids yet....i was just about to suggest coffee at starbucks when the son who helps out opened the doors. this is what he said:

"i'll start the movie if you want to buy tickets, but the popcorn will be cold!"

we didn't care about the popcorn....we just wanted to see the movie. so we bought our tickets and went inside. she needed to go to the bathroom, but the ladies had a leak so she had to use the mens....the door didn't shut all the way but since we were the only ones there she felt safe enough to go ahead and go. i took my turn and feeling slightly guilty at them sticking around to show us the movie bought some candy for each of us.

the movie was great and we were joined by another senior citizen that we later learned parks his car acroos the street and waits for someone to buy a ticket so he can go to the movies. he doesn't want them to run it for just him so he just waits. weird huh?!!?


only in small town america can one get a private viewing:)

Comments

Julie said…
I love that mexican restaurant!!! I would like to see a movie there sometime (just looks like a fun experience), and becoming jane interests me. So, would you be interested in babysitting a sweet little angel sometime??? :)
September 18, 2007 at 4:50 PM
Anonymous said…
I still get a chuckle thinking about the experience. Everything you said was sooo true - just like it happened. I almost wouldn't believe it if I hadn't been there myself. Funny you were thinkin' Starbucks - in that split second before the door flew open, so was I! Great minds (and friends) think alike!!! A memorable experience!
September 19, 2007 at 3:04 PM
The Gang's Momma! said…
That's a great story! There's something so precious about that image of the elderly man sitting and waiting for someone else to join him at the movies - the antiquated manners at not wanting to impose on anyone (not even a public business) just for him and at the same time, sad that he has no one to go with him that makes it "worth" keeping the theater open for two. I love small towns and all the stories they tell!

Thanks for sharing this!
September 22, 2007 at 8:25 PM
Natalie said…
great story. and oh so true.
September 23, 2007 at 6:55 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2021 word: rhythm

 as i began to ponder all that i had learned about myself in 2020 i found amazing places of adaptability, leadership, and change.  those are great strengths and proved to be valuable in 2020, however those same things left me feeling a bit out of sorts, unanchored.  i know my life needs to find some grounding again.  i told my husband yesterday and a friend today that i am not looking forward to 2021.  no big plans. no vacations to look forward to.  several things are already cancelled and leaving some voids at work.  but really...there is nothing like being an incredible social person and realizing 2021 has a looming sense of loneliness when my girl takes on college. with this in mind, i knew i needed to find some ways to reclaim myself; putting space into my life filled with things that bring joy and peace.  there are things i need to continue changing physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally, yet discipline is not in my skill set.  it freaks me out.  constrains me lead
Post a Comment
Read more

me, on politics

i despise politics. i never liked it, but i married a man fascinated with it. a man who wanted to be part of it all...and was, briefly. boy were our eyes opened... anyways...it seems like this election has several hot button topics. one of which is universal healthcare. my cousin started a blog called politics for mom and there have been several heated debates going on. i was reading several comments on healthcare. and frankly i was bothered! now, i don't know that a strict universal healthcare is the answer, but i do know that we have now doesn't work for the average person. here is our story.... hubby worked in a small business - 3 employees at the most that i can remember. we paid 1/2 our insurance..until it came to the point where our half each month was twice what we would pay if we were on our own. but for the owner it saved him money. so he agreed to cover ours in full. we were very grateful. i also know at times, that because of the healthcare cost, it was a struggle f
9 comments
Read more

the word...

new year.  new decade. new word.  i started the habit of choosing a word almost exactly a decade ago.  each year the word has evolved and helped shape the year. well, this year is quite likely the exception.  or at least i thought it was.  my usual yearly reflection takes me on a journey through the year where the word has evolved into something entirely different than the road i envisioned. and usually i am in awe of how God used that word. this year was strange.  looking back on the goals i set, i see failure, not awe.  now before you go and tell me i am not a failure, i did fail at the goals i set.  truly.  goal 1:  grow and develop in a healthy way.  nope.  ending the year with extra instead of less.  attempted, yet didn't follow through on many health plans.  goal 2:  grow spiritually through meditation, scripture reading, and community.  nope.  ending the year with little reading and loss of church community that grieves me deeply. late fall i started pondering thes
Post a Comment
Read more