I ran into an old friend the other day. It’s about the only way I see him anymore, bumping into him at a store or downtown somewhere. We were close 25 years ago when we were both single, in fact we lived together for about a year.
We’d stay up late drinking beers, watching sports and lamenting how could two eligible, studly bachelors not have girlfriends. Of course if you had seen the small, kinda messy apartment we lived in and the fact that neither of us was really making any money or had jobs we enjoyed, I suppose the question of why we didn’t have girlfriends was pretty easy to answer. One day he met a girl and fell in love, they got married, now he has 4 kids and not much free time.
The last time I saw him was right before Christmas, my god that seems like a lifetime ago. We talked about the upcoming holidays and how we should get together, we didn’t, and we wondered if the Tigers would ever be good again.
He runs the local movie theater, which ever since coronavirus hit has been closed for months. He was hoping they might open up again later in the summer, but Hollywood isn’t really releasing many films and if they open it’ll be at half capacity, and since his theaters are small to begin with, what would be the purpose of showing a movie to 10 people.
It got me to thinking of the last movie I saw in a movie theater before they all closed. I admit I don’t go see a lot of movies. It’s so easy not too now with hundreds of TV stations and movies on demand, all available from the comfort of your couch, why put up with the hassle of going to a theater. But there are some movies that just need to be seen on a big screen in a theater with other people having that shared experience.
It was in February, on a cold, gray wet February afternoon, the kind of afternoon that is easier to stay inside than venture out, but venture out I did to the matinee to see the movie 1917. It had won some awards and the buzz about was that it was a breathtakingly good movie, maybe even great. A unique story of 2 messengers in World War 1 sent on a mission to get word up to the front lines about an impending battle. It was good, actually it was great. It got everything right, the acting, the costumes, the time period and most of all the cinematography, which I believe is a fancy word to say how it was filmed, all made better by being in a movie theater with other people. If that’s the last movie I saw this year then I was lucky it was that one.
Movies, concerts, sporting events, basically any large gatherings are temporarily postponed. It’s turning out to be more than temporary. I turned on the TV tonight and there was a baseball game on. They are getting ready to finally begin the season and they are playing some practice games, but of course there are no fans in the stadium. I miss baseball, it’s summer and warm summer nights are perfect for the languid pace and easy to follow action of baseball. But playing games in empty stadiums is strange and weird, and it makes you realize that everything is not right yet and probably won’t be for a long time.
Even though I don’t enjoy large crowds like I used too, ok I admit the reason I don’t enjoy crowds is that I’m thinking about the inevitable traffic jam that usually accompanies large gatherings, and yes I know I sound like an “old guy.” But there is something special about being at a concert with thousands of other people singing the same song, or being at a sports event cheering for your team, or even being in a small movie theater watching a great movie.
I miss those shared experiences, and I hope it’s not too long before we’re able to gather again, to sing again, and to cheer again.
Stay safe and healthy…take care of yourself and if possible someone else,
Peace,
John
John's Blog 