A trip to the movies brings about a longing for home

by Laurice Bryant

Recently I had the pleasure of being in McCurtain County for a vacation. I have been living in the Salt Lake City (SLC) area for the past two years. While Utah is beautiful country, with stunning views of the Wasatch Mountains from all angles of the city, there is nothing like McCurtain County. The mature trees and green grass as far as the eye can see are some things I had forgotten about. The friendly wave "hello" on the highway is non-existant on the fast paced freeway of SLC. The slower paced lifestyle in Idabel is relaxing compared to the buzzing, "do-everything-in-a-hurry" here in SLC. The lines at Wal-Mart are shorter; there was no wait at the ATM machine. I received my soda at the Sonic in less than five minutes (compared to the 20 minute or longer wait at my local Sonic). I could go anywhere I wanted in town without having to plan the shortest quickest route. And it only took ten minutes or less to reach my destination, as compared to the 30 to 40 minute drive in heavy traffic just to get to Wal-Mart.

One of the pleasures of “home” is reading the Oklahoma Edge. I pick up similar magazines here in SLC, but they aren’t as entertaining to me as the Oklahoma Edge. I know some of the contributing authors and I have frequented the businesses advertising their services in the Oklahoma Edge. In the May edition I had to chuckle at the article about The Phoenix Theater in Antlers. The single screen and the picture of the regular sized candy bars is not a regular feature here in SLC. I realized living in the city has taken away all of my small town life advantages, even something as simple as going to a movie.

Going to the movie in SLC is unlike anything I had ever experienced. First you must decide which movie you want to see, there are 20 screens and usually 10 to 12 movies showing. The first show times of the day are 8:45 to 9:00 am and the last showing usually starts around midnight. You even have five choices how you want to obtain your ticket. Tickets are available over the phone, internet, a ticket kiosk in the lobby, the usual ticket counter, or a unique drive up ticket purchasing system. Yes, you can obtain your ticket from a drive up machine!! All the seats are reserved; I choose the seats I want to sit in. Did I mention the tickets are $8.00 after 6:00 pm and $5.50 for the matinee showing.

After I purchase my ticket I can then choose from a variety of foods to be enjoyed while watching my movie. The theater lobby is much like a food court in a shopping mall. The choices range from hand dipped ice cream, Pizza Hut, Chinese, soup in a bread bowl, chicken fingers and fries, Taco Bell, burgers and dogs to the usual movie cuisine, tubs of nearly burnt, overly salted, “buttered” popcorn and giant-sized over-priced candy. Two years ago for $9.95 I purchased a 32 ounce reusable mug that I can have refilled with the soda of my choice for a mere one dollar bill. Or I can purchase a 32 ounce drink for $4.25.

Some things are the same regardless of where you watch a movie, such as the sticky floor and the obnoxious cell phone users. Watching a movie in a digital, THX certified theater is the best way to experience a movie. The colors are vibrant and the sound will vibrate in your chest. I get to sit in stadium seating in a reclining theater chair that I choose from 390 seats. I can enjoy my Taco Salad, my near burnt popcorn and my dollar's worth of soda in style. When I leave the theater I have spent around $55.00 for a family of 3 to take in a 2 hour movie. There is nothing small town about that. But believe me, I would rather see a movie at the Phoenix over a big city theater any day.

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I have always said if the weird and strange can happen, it will happen to me or around me.

Several months ago my family went for an afternoon matinee at our local theater. We attended the showing of Enchanted with friends of ours. There were 4 adults and 5 kids in our party. We took up almost a whole row in the theater.

Of course I managed to get stuck in the middle of the row, knowing I would have to have a bathroom break.

Let me set up the scene in the theater, it is a packed house, 390 seats and probably 375 are taken. The population is mostly parents with their kids. There is a scene in the movie where animated, cartoon Giselle falls into the streets of New York as human Giselle. About 10 minutes after that scene I have to take a bathroom break.

Kimarie, one of the kids in our party set her food tray on the floor in front of her instead of pushing it under her seat. So I am scooting thru the aisle trying to hurry but not step on toes and still watch the movie at the same time. All of a sudden I step in Kimarie’s food tray, it slips forward and I start to fall. There is nothing for me to grab to maintain my balance. I wobbled around and then BAM, I am in the lap of the man in front of me. I had managed to fall and kind of toppled right into his lap with my feet sticking straight up in the air. Without skipping a beat, he looked at me and said “Hello princess”!! I just got out of his lap, made my bathroom trip and returned to the theater with the people sitting immediately around me laughing and clapping. I still think it was a clever answer to some clutzy woman tripping right into his lap in the middle of a movie. You will be happy to know there was no popcorn harmed during my fall.