I miss the movie theater

As I navigated through the movie theater parking lot on a recent night, a group of middle school-age kids darted in front of my SUV. Two girls were chasing two boys and when they got to the theater door the boys began playfully blocking the door. When an older couple needed to enter, they stepped aside. When the girls tried to sneak in behind the couple, the boys quickly blocked them.

I was not dropping my children off at the Wallingford movie theater, just cutting through to Route 5. My wife tells me it among the longest of my infamous shortcuts and I use it only when she is not in the car because she freaks out. (When I first arrived in town almost 25 years ago there was no movie theater and the plaza was pretty empty so it made a convenient cut over from North Main Street Extension to Route 5. But I digress. If you would like me to write a separate blog on my not-so short shortcuts, let me know.)

Recently, a colleague was asking me about whether she should let her sixth grader go to the movies on his own. I told her I thought it was OK and offered some tips. My last words were: “The real trouble starts when they don’t want to go to the movies anymore.”

When they were in middle school, it seemed my sons were at the movie theater nearly every weekend, sometimes both nights. My sons, about to be 15 and 17, still occasionally go. The last time my oldest went he drove. When they were in middle school, it was cool to skip dances and go to the movies. Apparently dances are more closely supervised than the movie theater. But about halfway through their freshman year both stopped going regularly because going to the movies was no longer cool. Now they prefer to hang out at friend’s houses in the cold weather and almost anywhere during the nice weather, including our pool.

I can’t believe I used to complain about having to pick them up at the movies. Hanging out is much more stressful on parents.

Let me know what you think.

Becoming an X-File ?

I never watched the X-Files when it originally aired. In 2008, my wife and I saw the most recent X-Files movie at the theater and I left hooked. For the next three months or so I watched nothing but X-Files, making it through seven of the nine seasons. Why did I stop? Burnout. Watching one show exclusively for three months is not the same as watching it over nine years.

About three weeks ago I was re-arranging my DVDs and looked at my X-Files collection. Something clicked and I started watching it again. I’m up to season three. This is not the first time I’ve been compulsive about a particular show or channel. About 10 years ago I spent an entire winter watching the Golf Channel. I like golf. But part of the appeal was watching them play in places like Dubai, Australia and Hawaii, which are sunny and warm while we suffer through winter. For much of 2002 and 2003 I watched nothing but C-Span. When the NFL network first aired, I watched it non-stop for about three months. Last year I borrowed nearly every DVD from the public library that that interested me and didn’t bother with cable (except Yankee games) for the better part of six months. Prior to my X-Files fixation, I was on a college basketball binge.

On a related note, I also sometimes watch movies repeatedly. Some I’ve watched 25 times or more include Citizen Cane, Casablanca, My Cousin Vinny, The Queen (I’ve probably watched it 100 times), A Few Good Men (also about 100 times), Fog of War, Las Vegas Vacation, The DaVinci Code and The Burbs.

My family thinks this is all very strange, especially my temporary obsession with C-Span and The Queen.

Let me know what you think.

I swear I'm sorry

I’ve noticed that most of the time I let a profanity slip out, which isn’t very often, I almost always immediately apologize. I do this even if the slip occurs in my office with only one other person present. I’ve noticed people doing the same with me. The latest example was at a gathering of basketball parents at a local bar Friday night. The parent I was talking to used the f word in a very casual and quiet way. It wasn’t vulgar or loud and I didn’t think much of it until she apologized. To be honest, the apology made me feel more awkward than the profanity. Does she think I would think less of her for such a minor slip up? Do the people I apologize to feel the same way?

Later in the night a few other parents were talking about a town in Connecticut that has started fining students if they use profanity. That started a conversation about how people in general, including teen-agers, seem to swear less than in previous generations. We all agreed that when we started our careers swearing in the work place was prevalent and today it is a rarity.

A few minutes later a patron with fewer inhibitions dropped a very loud f-bomb because she was unhappy they had turned the music down. She didn't apologize or seem the least bit embarassed. In fact, a few minutes later she did the same thing. I kind of admired her ability to let loose. After all, were were all in a bar around midnight on Friday. Shouldn't people feel relaxed enough to use a little profanity?

Just today I screwed up my daily video about halfway through and let out a very angry swear in front of a longtime male colleague who has heard the word more than a few times. It was an impulse-swear, done out of frustration because until that point the video was flowing well. I apologized to him three times before he left the office. Not sure why.

Let me know what you think