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Solo in the Theater
Watching the World Go By
I go to the movies two or three times a week lately, often on one of my days off. Usually I go by myself, though if it’s something I think my mother or someone else might enjoy, I might invite them along. There’s always something I’m interested in since I like a broad range of things.
I’m going because I don’t know how much longer we’ll have theaters in this current state. When I go, they’re sparsely populated at best, and a few times I’ve been the only person in the theater. It could feel lonely, but it’s more like a private screening than anything else.
I don’t know how theaters are managing to stay open, so I always treat myself to popcorn and a drink when there, doing what I can to support them. I pick up after myself scrupulously, and make sure I’m friendly to the theater staff. That’s not how it was when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, when the theaters were full and sometimes even be sold out.
We live in weird times, and ones that are full of last moments, or so it seems lately. Untouched land is vanishing, even the small bits in highway medians and roadside margins, and rainwater is no longer safe to drink. There are certainly still firsts and other wonders to be discovered, like the recent prehistoric wall in the Baltic sea. But nowadays I keep seeing endings, and it doesn’t…
