Posted tagged ‘matinee’

“If you want a neat wife, choose her on a Saturday”

March 21, 2015

Today is a down day for me. Last night it snowed about 2 inches, and it is snowing right now. Earlier this morning, it was large, wet flakes but now the flakes are smaller and more apt to accumulate. The grass I could see is now buried. The tree branches have their layers of snow back. The winter seems endless, and I am well beyond my tolerance point.

Gracie and I are going to the dump later. I figure it will be fairly empty on a day like today. After the dump I will do nothing and continue my nothing pattern into tomorrow. This was a busy week for me. I don’t like busy weeks.

When I think back to winter Saturdays when I was a kid, they were always filled. The snow was fun. Our sleds got quite the workout all winter long. Every new snow fall meant the roads were covered, and the hill was ours. There was also the matinée. It was about a twenty-minute walk uptown to the movie theater, but we never thought about the time or distance. We walked most places all winter. Late Saturday afternoons were for inside and playing board games on the living room rug. We’d lie close to the board, each of us usually on one side of it. We played Monopoly, but it was never a favorite of mine. Finishing it usually took far too long, and it had little excitement except for hoping not to fall on a property with a hotel. We played card games like flap Jack, crazy eights and the most boring game of all, war. Sometimes, when I’d been outside too long and was still cold, I’d get comfy under my covers and read. I always had a book. Trips to the library were usually once a week, sometimes after school but mostly on Saturdays. I think Saturday was my favorite day of the week back then. When people ask me if I like being retired, I tell them it’s like every day is Saturday.

“I’m someone who believes the only way to see a movie is in a big theater, on a big screen, with a big bag of popcorn.”

June 11, 2011

Today is sweatshirt weather. It’s cold and damp with rain expected. Two days ago it was in the 80’s; today is 61°. I’m thinking of staying close to home. The Science Fiction channel has cold and ice movies, perfect choices for the day. Yeti is now attacking. Keep in mind he doesn’t like pepper spray. It infuriates him, and the last thing any of us need is an infuriated Yeti.

No plumbers, electricians, EMT’s or the like have darkened my doorstep in a couple of days. I think the proverbially black cloud has passed. I pity the person above whom it looms.

Today is a perfect movie matinee day. I’ll buy my ticket for a quarter and use my nickel for vanilla Turkish Taffy or a Sugar Daddy. They always last a good part of the movie. I wonder what cartoon they’ll show first. Bugs Bunny is always a good guess. I, however, am more of a Daffy Duck fan. The paper said the movie today is It Conquered the World. There better not be any ugly monsters or scary aliens as they’ll be screaming girls all over the theater. I, however, am never one of them. I love being scared. I know the back seats will be filled early. That’s where the teenagers go to make out. I always sneak a look at them on my way to the bathroom. Too bad they’re missing such a good movie.

It never occurred to me back then that my mother spend under a dollar to get rid of us all afternoon. I figure she thought it a wise investment. We had to walk up town, wait to buy a ticket, stand in line to buy candy, pick a seat, watch the movie then walk back home. She had the whole afternoon to herself or with my two little sisters. It must have seemed like heaven.

It’s sort of funny, but I’m back to matinees. They’re cheaper and far less crowded on a weekday. I buy popcorn and a drink. The theater is always filled with people my age, just like back then.