MOVIES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN an important part of my life. Until I discovered books, they were my main escape valve, a way of playing hooky from my humdrum childhood and discovering, even if vicariously, what the world had to offer. At the age of eleven, I rode my bicycle several miles to see “From Here to Eternity,” during which I learned about the disappointments of marriage, the predatory nature of sexual attraction, and the ultimate masculine turn-on, war. Three years later, I took the public bus to downtown Miami and sat alone with my box of popcorn watching “And God Created Woman” with the insanely gorgeous Brigitte Bardot. I learned what I wanted when I grew up. Since those halcyon prepubescent days, I have enjoyed hundreds of films, savoring the talent of the actors, the magnificence of the cinematography, the engrossing or action-packed storylines, and the (sometimes) intelligent screenplays. “As I looked back over my life,” wrote Gore Vidal, “I realized that I enjoyed nothing – not art, not sex – more than going to the movies.” The trick with an ostomy, of course, especially if you’re munching and drinking during the showing, is making it all the way through without having to make a potty run during the showing. My age and bladder issues have only complicated this predicament. When I realize that I can’t put it off any longer, I simply quote Arnold in “The Terminator”: “I’ll be back.”
Hello HenryM.
I too have fond memories of the movies and I can recall all two of them that I saw as a child. 'Bambi' and '101 Dalmatians'. Both films were paid for as charitable 'treats' for the poor kids of the neighbourhood and, because personal finances were non-existent, these two films remained as lasting images and experiences of the big screen.
They say that what you don’t have, you don’t miss, and this proved largely to be true of the cinema experience. We had to be content to fill our time with the many other things that life without money presented.
Fortunately, I loved nature and the great outdoors which, in those days was almost entirely ‘free’.
There is nothing quite like a participant activity to entertain, educate and occupy one’s time during those formative years and I often used to ponder on the fact that if I ever grew old, I would spend my doting years watching all those films that I missed as a child. Little did I know at that time that this would come about via the medium of television, where there appear to be repeats after repeats of almost every old film that was ever made.
Best wishes
Bill
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