In my neck of the woods, regular gasoline can be purchased at the low, low price of about $2.40 a gallon at this writing. At various times, I have expressed joy about this to friends and acquaintances.
As you know, there’s always one guy who likes to rain on my parade. He will say, “Holler at me when it’s back under two dollars like it was in 2020!”
Ah yes, 2020. When everything was closed, hospitals were jammed, and funeral homes were ordering extra caskets. Nobody was driving, and a little thing called “supply and demand” drove gas prices down to dirt cheap levels. Somehow, I can’t get that nostalgic about 2020. If that’s what it takes to lower gas prices another fifty cents, I’ll pass.
Personally, I prefer paying relatively little for gas, while having the freedom and ability to go anywhere I like. But even as life has crept back to sort-of pre-COVID normalcy, there’s one old habit I have not yet resumed. I haven’t been inside a movie theater since before the pandemic.
I have loved going to movies as long as I can remember. As a kid, my parents would take me to family-friendly flicks like “The Love Bug” and “Herbie Rides Again.” My Mom drove a Volkswagen “doodlebug” so we had a vested interest in this series.
As I got a bit older, Dad started taking me to more adult-themed flicks. As a teen, I was introduced to the Mafia (and some serious violence) in “The Valachi Papers” and “The Godfather.” That is the closest this Sand Mountain, Alabama kid ever got to organized crime, and it inspired a fascination with the topic that has never wavered. I have since read countless books and watched dozens of TV shows and movies based on “the mob,” so if Robert DeNiro or Al Pacino are in a movie, I’ve probably seen it.
Dad also took me to see George C. Scott in “Patton,” about the controversial World War II general. I can still remember the opening scene, and the music that accompanied it. Talk about larger than life. General Patton’s opening monologue, delivered in full military regalia in front of an enormous United States flag. I saw the movie once, fifty years ago, and it seems like yesterday.
As I got into my teens, I got hooked on James Bond movies. Even though the actors changed, the glamour and action only got bigger and better. Yes, I’ve seen them all, even the clunkers. And if there was no 007, I’d settle for brain candy like “Smokey and the Bandit” or “Airplane.” I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that date movies like “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever” were perfect for some popcorn and cuddling.
After I got married, the movie theater served as a getaway on those wonderful occasions when a babysitter was available. When our kids entered the picture, we all enjoyed “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and other well-produced family movies.
As our sons got older, our choice of movies also matured, and some of our best memories consist of the shared experience of laughing at raunchy comedies or buckling up for action-packed thrillers.
Suddenly in 2020, as mentioned earlier, everything stopped. Especially the movies. During the height of a contagious pandemic, the last place we wanted to be was in a confined room, sitting elbow-to-elbow next to folks sneezing and hacking God-knows-what.
Theaters closed, and some never reopened. Some of the remaining cinemas promised extra cleaning and assigned seating, and Hollywood hoped that high-profile films like “Elvis,” “Jurassic World,” and “Top Gun: Maverick” would bring fans back in droves.
A few movies have been successful in 2022, but most others have flopped. One recent December weekend was the second-worst of the entire year.
I can remember many a Christmas when we spent the first half of the day opening gifts and overeating, followed by a trip “to the movies.”
This year we’ll likely be home watching a movie or some streaming series. There will be no overpriced snacks, no sneezing strangers, and my shoes won’t stick to the floor.
Still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss that big screen experience.
