Most people like to take a break from their hectic schedules and go do something fun. Some people enjoy bowling, though as it has become rather expensive, fewer people choose that as an activity. Bowling alleys are closing all over, and whatever leagues still may be active are losing bowlers. This is an unfortunate trend that has no sign of letting up anytime soon.
So what does bowling have to do with going to the movies? Simple: they're both fun activities that millions enjoy every day despite the fact that bowling is on the downswing as I mentioned above. Maybe I'll write something about bowling in a future post since I did quite a bit of it over the years, but I'll focus on the movies this time.
When I was a kid, waaay back in the '60s, we went to see the latest movies (usually Disney movies) at our local movie house, the El Portal Theatre in downtown North Hollywood. (We called it "uptown" for some reason.) They charged a mere 75¢ for a ticket for us kids. We were often sent with a small bag of candy (shhh! Don't tell anyone at the theater!) The El Portal Theatre is still there, still called "El Portal," and is almost 100 years old. However, most of the entertainment nowadays is live stage shows. A block down the street was the Guild Theatre, a smaller place that didn't seem to get the same movies as the El Portal did, though once in awhile we saw movies there. As that part of North Hollywood became run down in the mid-to-late-'70s, the Guild became a Pussycat Theatre (just what every neighborhood needs). Not long afterward, it closed when many of the old buildings on that block were bulldozed to make way for a new Hewlett-Packard Corp. office building that was built on the site.
I enjoyed going to the movies. More often than not, we had double features that filled our entire Saturday afternoons. And I'm sure our parents were glad to get rid of us for a few hours. Maybe while we were gone they went bowling or did...other things. You never know.
As I got older, my trips to the movies became few and far between. The movies of the early to mid-'80s weren't so bad and Lori and I went to see a movie occasionally when we were dating and early in our marriage. We did take Diana to movies when she was little, but we stopped going later. Not much to see in our opinion, and I stopped going for a long time.
Many years later, a friend and co-worker asked me if I was interested in going to see a foreign film after work. I thought, "Why not?" and went. It turns out that a multiplex in beautiful downtown (or uptown?) Oxnard shows foreign films in association with the Oxnard Film Society on most Monday evenings. Jim and I go when we're able to, and sometimes arrive early to eat dinner next door at Fresh & Fabulous, a restaurant that serves natural, organic food.
Occasionally, the movie is an American film that is a bit off the beaten path. They're just as enjoyable as the mainstream films—perhaps more so. Once in awhile, one of Jim's co-workers joins us, or his sister will join us. Susan sometimes brings a friend. We always have a good time whether it's only Jim and me, or if Susan and her friends are there. A few times we've gone to the movies later in the week at a different theater.
A nice thing is that most local movie theaters consider age 60 to be a senior, which gives us old fogies a good discount on seeing a show. Unless a film is unusually long, it's usually over not long after 8:00, giving us time to get home and do anything we need to do before calling it a night.
If you're interested in the films that the Oxnard Film Society shows and their scheduled showings, visit their website here.
While I am comfortable at home, it's true that you can look at the same four walls for just so long before you go cuckoopants crazy. I've come to realize that for far too long I've not had enough companionship with other people. I will always be more or less a solitary person, but an evening out now and then is necessary. A good movie fits the bill nicely.
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