RAINY DAY MATINEE

After a walk I thought this is a  “great night for a movie”.  And I have over 1000 to choose from On Demand !  Far far too many choices…And then I think of how I used to have just two choices and I’m back riding my bike uptown to take in a rainy Saturday matinee.

I was allowed at 10 years to ride over 2 miles to High street.  And my folks nor I didn’t have to worry about getting mangled by a driver crazed with road rage.  I pedaled all over town unabashed.

Now as I parked my bike, the choice – The Levoy, plush seats, gilded fixtures and a great stairway to the Lodge and balcony…and today offering an Abbott and Costello double feature for the price of one - They would meet the Wolf Man and then Frankenstein’s monster this afternoon . Too much of the same stuff I think.  

Plus, I didn’t like it when Lou got slapped in the face all the time by Bud – he should have knock him out just once and that would have ended it.

Across the street was the workingman’s emporium of flickering dreams – The People’s Theatre.  Decked in high gloss enamel green.  Hardwooden backed seats.  And always the lingering scent of popcorn blended with old socks and cigar smoke.  I checked the marquee.  THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and WAR  OF THE WORLDS.  Now you’re talking entertainment.  I paid my quarter and entered the musty arena. (Editor's note: The price is not a typo)

At the People's I always chose to sit on the carpeted steps next to the fire exit half way down the aisle.  This perch was actually more comfortable than one of the splintery seats.  But first I had to have my traditional movie-watching repast.   Freshly buttered popcorn with at least a week of the recommended daily intake of sodium. 

And a second round and a very hard choice.  Good & Plenty’s or I blow the whole budget on a double Reese’s Cup?

I forego the Cups for the pink and white hard confection.  And because of this frugal choice I also get a box of Juju Beads as a chaser and still have money left out of my dollar allowance.

I dug into the popcorn and the first movie started.  Aliens attacked the earth and were finally defeated  by a case of the flu…(which I judged was a fairly disappointing ending) I would have much rathered it ended in a fiery battle of death rays. 

Next the weekly serial  came on the screen – The Clutching Hand.  A 15 minute mystery which always ended with a cliffhanger as the shadow of,  you guessed it – a clutching hand, hovered about to harm our hero.  

Next up a real treat.  Beep Beep – the audience of kid- roar was deafening – Road Runner was missed by a falling safe that Wily Coyote tossed into the Grand Canyon.  I waited for years to see just once, that wily bird get his.  It never happened.

And then the second feature – a movie that would haunt me for years to come.  It started with a blaring civil defense horn alerting citizens that something awful was about to happen - it turned out to be a space ship landing on the great mall of our beloved capital, Washington DC – (aliens always do seem to do their homework before they visit).  

This film was creepy because it was like a newsreel – I started to think about the end of the world, triggered by the staid extraterrestrial and shuddered.  Most science fiction, as it would later be called, was filled with very unbelievable clumsy monsters – this one was not and it was all too real. 

It didn’t end with a battle, but with a warning. Earthlings, stop screwing around - get your petty problems fixed before it's too late or bingo.  (Remember this was a time when we kids practiced getting under desks in school to be safe from an A- bomb dropped on Millville).  This warning hit me like a punch.

The lights came up but I could not move.  This movie got to me. 

Finally, I left the theatre in deep dark thoughts – then something so ironic happened it could have been scripted.  Just as I was about to hop on my bike the fire siren blared from the fire hall a block away.  This piercing sound was like a knife - it scared the sh#$ out of me...

Good grief – It’s happening.  The aliens, the Russian, somebody is bombing Millville!!!!!!  I needed to get home right away…home where it's safe.  I don't want to get zapped, all alone, here on crummy old High Street.  

I had never ridden my bike so fast, so recklessly.  I made the 20 minute ride in 9 minutes flat.  

I ran into my house bawling, I hugged my grandmother who was totally taken by surprise.  All she could say was, "Did you fall off your bike again?"

Later, after I had calmed down, realized the world wasn't ending and told her my tale of woe  – She scolded me. “Serves you right, Calvin, you should not waste money on such silly movies”, she declared.  "It is not good for a boy your age to see such stuff."

And from that day forward for several years after, whenever I heard a siren's sound, I started to shiver and wondered again if this was it – the Day my Earth Would Stand Still.