Going to the movies

 

Here in Greensboro, we seem to be having a lot of locally owned businesses close.  That makes me sad because we can do better than that.  Today, Red Cinemas announced it was permanently closed. I will admit that I have not done my part as far as movie theaters go because I have not been to a movie in a long time.  Mainly it is because there has not been anything I had the desire to see in the theater and pay the ticket price for.  There is one that is coming out this summer that I am definitely going to see but I will save that for another blog.

Anyway, the closing of Red Cinemas brought back lots of great memories of going to the movies in my life. The first movie I remember going to see was Annie.  There may have been others before that but that is the first one I remember.  I went to the movies a lot as a child.  Saw The Muppets, The Care Bears, Goonies, Disney movies.  There were two movie theaters in Monroe when I was growing up.  One was the Center Theater downtown and then there was another one in a shopping center.  I cannot remember the name of it, but we went there all the time when I was in middle school.  When it was not football season, Friday nights were for the movies. 

Buying the sodas in the paper cups that were falling apart by the end of the movie.  The big tubs of popcorn with extra butter.  Those ridiculously expensive boxes of candy.  Trying to find seats together.  This was in the days before reserving your seats online. Stepping on someone else trash that was left by the previous audience.  Stepping on people's feet trying to get to your seat.  Heaven forbid you had to use the bathroom during the movie. Those were all part of the great movie going experience. 

In college, I saw so many movies at either the Janus or the Terrace theaters.  Those were great movie houses.  I spent a lot of time and money there.  Going to see a movie in the theater is like no other experience. I understand the comfort of streaming and renting new movies to watch in the comfort of your home, but it is still not the same.  I am hoping that the closing of the Red Cinemas will motivate me to get out and see more movies.  I should try to find as independent a movie house in the area as there is and patron that.  Going to the movies is something everyone should experience and thanks to technology, we are slowly robbing future generations of that fun.  

Popcorn, anyone?