When I was growing up in Wichita there were these incredible old theaters. They were so beautiful and were really built to last by craftsmen. The woodwork inside was amazing. The two that I remember topping the list in Wichita were the Orpheum and the Fox. They were both downtown. The great thing about them was that they had balconies. I don’t think those even exist anymore in movie theaters. The Orpheum had one huge balcony. The Fox was actually three stories which meant it had two balconies. You could get lost in the Fox Theater which I believe is now named The Murdock. Anyway, some of the things that made it special to go to the movies was the huge Marquee out front. Of course, it would change every time there was a new movie or movies. They had people who would put new letters on the Marquee… that alone was interesting to watch. When you went to a movie you got your tickets then went in… there were ushers in uniform with flashlights who would take you to a seat in the theater. I know ushers are now only a memory but a neat one none the less. The other thing you could count on was a cartoon before they played the movie.
We would go to the Fox and end up moving all over the theater from the bottom floor to the first balcony to the second balcony. You could only get concessions on the first floor and the second floor. You were on your own on the third floor. In a way it is sad that the world has basically moved away from these venues and now we are treated to the mega theater complexes with 15 or more screens. I do think that the whole movie experience is not as special as it once was. It is probably not feasible to go back to the old way. I am sure it would be cost prohibitive and financially unsustainable, but I believe we all suffer as a result. The first movie I remember seeing… with a date… was at the Orpheum and we watched “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, with Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. All I can say is that it was Grand in every sense of the word. I remember that event… almost 60 years later. Can you remember the movie you saw last week and where you saw it? I don’t think that the whole movie experience is as special as it once was and that is sad.
Drive In’s
This was something we enjoyed when I was a kid and even when our children were little. Drive In’s barely exist anymore although they saw a bit of a resurgence during Covid. Way back when, Drive In’s were very common. It was fun to go either with friends or a date. You could watch the movies in your car or if you had a truck, park it backwards and hang out in the truck bed and watch the movie. The sound was provided by a metal unit that hung on a pole between parking places. I remember when I was in high school, I took a girl named Candy to the drive in. Unfortunately, it rained during the movie which made watching the movie difficult. I wasn’t ready for that. I suggested that maybe we go somewhere and have a dessert or something… she agreed so I drove away. I forgot that the sound unit was still hooked to the car and I pulled the pole out of the ground that held the sound box for my car and the car next to me. I panicked and threw the sound box out the window and escaped the drive in. That act, to me, was far worse than getting a ticket for driving 37 in a 30. This time I eluded prosecution. The whole experience was not good. I think I lost quite a few points with Candy. It turned out that we didn’t have any more dates. Maybe our schedules just didn’t sync up. I am sure that was it.
Looking back, what was I supposed to do? Stop the car, get out, in the rain, put the metal box back on, apologize to the people in the car next to me, report the incident to theater management, wait for someone to come and deal with the incident. Seriously, I think the coward’s panicked approach made much more sense. In retrospect, even though it was cumbersome and awkward, I think leaving the scene of the crime was probably the best solution. I am sure that the only reason the post came out of the ground was because it was raining. If the post hadn’t come out of the ground, maybe my car would have been damaged in some way. That wouldn’t have been cool. No, I have come to the conclusion that what I did was the right thing. I guess you could say that the police officer who thought he was doing the right thing by ticketing me for 37 in a 30 because of what I might do in the future was a bit of a sage. He may have been more on point than even I realized at the time. At the end of the day, I got by with it, no recorded incident, probably a good thing. I am sure the statute of limitations has run out on this. Eluding whatever negative outcome might have landed on me, kept all things copasetic. I chose to not let that little indiscretion affect me. The only real bad consequence was losing Candy’s respect. I don’t think she thought I did the right thing by leaving the scene. It was kind of like a “hit and run”. I avoided Drive Ins after that. The experience was unsettling. The thought actually entered my mind to go to the Drive In the next day and face the music. I decided to let “sleeping dogs lie”. A great cliché for the incident. I am sure the theater put the post back in place and moved on. No harm, no foul. I am sure that because of the poor visibility the car next to me probably couldn’t read my license plate anyway.
