I’ve been off from the work the better part of the last two weeks, and with that time I’ve been trying to get some extra sleep, work on my book, see friends and family, see a few movies, and spread some holiday cheer. Well … I’ve been mostly successful.
Yesterday I went to the movies with my sister, Alison, to see [i]Gran Torino[/i]. We went to the theater at 60th Street and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, which I realized immediately upon showing up that I had made a mistake. I saw a movie there I’ve been off from the work the better part of the last two weeks, and with that time I’ve been trying to get some extra sleep, work on my book, see friends and family, see a few movies, and spread some holiday cheer. Well … I’ve been mostly successful.
Yesterday I went to the movies with my sister, Alison, to see [i]Gran Torino[/i]. We went to the theater at 60th Street and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, which I realized immediately upon showing up that I had made a mistake. I saw a movie there last year, and hated the environment (old seats, dirty, poorly run, small screens), but forgot. But, we were already there, so what are you gonna do?
Our fun began before we even made our way inside. It was Friday, Jan. 2, so several people were off from work, and we had to wait outside on line to get a ticket. No big deal, except that there was a light snow, and Alison had an umbrella out to keep her dry. She accidentally bumped someone with the edge of the umbrella, which she apologized for, and moved away. The elder gentleman behind us kept explaining that there was no reason for her to have the umbrella, as we were partially under the awning, but Alison wanted the umbrella. So that was that. The guy behind us was not happy.
Once we found our seats, the people around us just had that aggressive talky way about them that said to me, [i]this could be a long movie[/i]. To avoid any conlficts, we moved up several rows so that we could all enjoy ourselves in peace. We didn’t complain or say a word to anyone, we just moved up, quietly and politely. The people in our row made some snarky comments about our moving anyway.
I think you can see where this day is heading.
By the time the movie started, the theater was packed, and mostly with that Baby Boomer/Seniors crowd, I suppose not surprising given that [i]Gran Torino[/i] is about a craggly old Clint Eastwood complaining about his neighbors.
During the movie itself–which was okay–I thought things were pretty much fine. We had the two seats closest to the wall, about half way down, out of harms’ way. No problem with anyone around us, no excessive chatter, so maybe my fears were misplaced. But about 2/3 into the movie my sister got a text message, and when she opened her phone, the light came up, and the woman behind her immediately dug her finger into Alison’s shoulder–[i]poke, poke, poke[/i]–and insist she shut the phone. Fair enough, but there’s a polite way to [i]ask[/i] and a nasty way to [i]demand.[/i] I wasn’t aware of this at the time, but apparently things were brewing.
When the movie ended, Alison and I sat there for two or three minutes as the credits rolled. Finally, it was time to go. So I stood up to put on my jacket, which apparently was a big mistake. The older couple behind us told me to get out of the way, I was blocking the credits. Yep. Their words. [i]You’re blocking the credits[/i]. Unaware that putting on my jacket was some sort of crime, I looked at the guy, trying to remain calm, not letting him get to me. Then he gets nasty. [i]Get the hell out of the way! [/i]Meanwhile, the theater is almost empty at this point. Trying to hold back as much as I can–but struggling–I give him and his wife a salute (not the finger, just a regular salute), and tell them to have a nice evening. The guy’s buddy–another Baby Boomer on the wrong side of 65–told me to drop dead.
Seriously. His words were [i]drop dead[/i].
I’m still baffled at all this, and on my way out told him that he’d gotten cranky in his old age (pretty mild considering what I wanted to say). This guy’s wife then told me I was rude and stupid and should grow a brain.
So much for spreading holiday cheer. I swear I left the house in a good mood; I wasn’t looking for anything except a nice day at the movies with my sister. I guess next time I should think twice.
