WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST MOVIE EXPERIENCE?

I don't know if anybody loves movies as much as I do. I'll admit to it right now: I watch an obscene amount of television. I always did. And it never seems to get in the way. I won't apologize.

I looked after my grandmother.

I raised my kids.

I had jobs and life.

These days, I make sure to get some exercise and encourage Jamie to do the same.

I keep house and bake/cook as much as I need or want.

I have my hobbies.

I don't bother anybody.

I'm doing okay.

When I hear that a spate of bad weather is on the way, I'm only kidding a little when I post that my peeps better be sure to get out and stock up on necessities, whatever they may be. Because you can bet I'll be ready, treats and remote control in hand.

Jamie has always been ahead of his time making sure we are provided for. Several years ago he made sure we had a good generator, Jeff built a separate darling little building for it, and it's kept in good order; it runs the whole house if the power goes out. A luxury, I know. He also installed a heat pump through Beck's in Montague and we couldn't be more pleased. And let's face it, you guys out there don't have to live with Nova when the power is off. My humor is either foul or non-existent. I don't seem to mind the inconveniences so much, it's the eternal darkness that I can't stand. It drives me around the bend. I am one of those people who is in perpetual motion, I rarely sit down, and when I do, I'm into my basket of knitting, I can't remain idle. And when there's no power, really, what am I supposed to do? There was a day when I would have paid good money for time to spend in the dark with Jamie, but that's another story for another day.....

Being active all the time is not necessarily a good thing, I just have trouble relaxing. That's on me. But good programming, now that's entertaining. And relaxing.

Anyhoo............back to the movies. Oh. My. God.

Do any of you remember the very first movie you ever saw in the theatre?

I sure do, as pictured in the post, it was Erich Segal's "LOVE STORY." It was based on a book, a narrow little novel that came out in 1970.

Now, in 1970, I was a little twerp from the sticks, barely 13 years of age, and about to find my first love.......movies.

"Love Story" was the blockbuster that year, and everybody had to see it. Everyone who was anyone had read it, and the next logical step was to clinch the deal and see the movie.

Well, of course, I was just a kid, and had never even seen the Souris Cinema, let alone got to go to a movie there. How would I? No parents, no car, no extra money for such a thing, and with only a little black and white television in the house, a movie in a theatre seemed like some sort of dream.

Well, I was about to wake up.

Big time.

And who introduced me to the movies? My aunt Isabell. That's who.

How it all transpired, I'll never really know. She would have been married to Joe Carpenter by this time, with at least 2 or 3 little children, and somehow she was desperate to see this movie. But she couldn't or wouldn't go alone, I imagine Joe would have to be watching the kids, and all her sisters were either tied down with half a dozen kids apiece, or in the States.

Hm. Somehow Nova got seconded. To say I was thrilled would be only my imagination. I went with her because I didn't have much choice. I didn't know what to expect.

But boy oh boy, it started a love affair like no other.

I don't remember the drive. But I vividly remember the bright lights of the marquee, with the name of the movie and time and dates.

Up the steps we go, and my lord, talk about an assault on the senses. The warmth. The intoxicating smell of hot buttered popcorn. The pop dispenser fizzing out tall cups of ice cold sodas. The little rows of chocolate bars all lined up in the showcase. The ticket seller. The line-up of people greeting the silver haired Boss, Claude Richards as he took the tickets and said, "Enjoy the show." Claude was pretty smooth.

Then to be ushered into the dimly lit theatre, where everybody found a seat and settled in with their confections, and spoke in murmurs. So exciting! I felt kind of grown up.

We waited a few minutes I guess, and I really don't remember if we had any treats or not, but I'll never forget the overture as the heavy velvet curtains rose dramatically, and images on that giant screen appeared. To me it was gigantic, although I realize by today's standards and advanced technology, it was probably quite primitive.

But the excitement got to me, my tummy was full of butterflies! Even the credits were thrilling. As the movie began, I was all in. It was all encompassing. I think I stopped breathing.

The story was beautiful and a classic, and as an innocent little 13 year old, I couldn't look away from the screen. You could have knocked my eyes off with a stick. The musical score has stayed with me all these years; who could ever forget the scene of the playful snowball fight? Who could ever forget Jenny and Oliver? Who could ever live up to a love like that?

I will always be grateful to Isabell for taking me with her to have my first movie experience. I never forgot it. I was safe with her, and along with other experiences, we had that one too.

It was to be a few more years before I got to my next movie, with a new boyfriend, since I was in High School by now. The movie was "Shaft" not really the romance that Love Story was, and not, I'm sure, entirely suitable either, but "Everybody else was going....." I whined, so Momma gave in and let me go. She was pretty strict. Everything had to be run by Art and Kathleen, and if they approved, I was golden.

Years go by, and during High School Carnivals and such events, I got to a few more movies, and to a few with current boyfriends. I never went with my friends, because none of us had a license or a car. Or indeed, any money.

When I started dating Jamie, there wasn't a single movie that we didn't see. It was like a college course, we had to go, and then everyone had something to discuss. We analysed every detail. Talk about trivia, that's why people of my vintage have a seemingly endless supply of useless facts that keep "Trivial Pursuit" fans captivated. We also watched the late movies on TV, like The Monty Python series.

Claude kept a steady run of all the current movies and he ran a tight ship. Movie goers spent hard earned money at his establishment and he made sure no one was disturbed as they were entertained. We were all familiar with his big flashlight that he wouldn't hesitate to swing in your direction if he suspected some Friday night cowboy was being an ass. He waltzed them right out the door. But they were always welcomed back the next time, they just needed to learn a little respect for other people and for Claude's property. He usually played 2, or sometimes 3 shows a week. One on Friday-Saturday night. One on Sunday. And sometimes a "b" type movie on Tuesday-Wednesday. I'm sure there were occasionally kids movies on a Saturday matinee, I'm not sure about that.

We saw them all. The very first movie Jamie took me to on our first date was "High Plains Drifter" with Clint Eastwood, another classic. Westerns weren't my favorite, but they've always been Jamie's and we watched them all.

We soon had our special seats at the theatre, as all young couples did. I specifically remember Frankie and Lorraine Hennessey's favorite spot was usually right behind us.

Now here's a movie I should never have watched on the big screen. "JAWS." Talk about a classic, it became, and still is a cult favorite. Like a lot of great movies, it started with a great book, which was published in 1974. The movie came out the following year, and I wasn't missing it.

I was unprepared for how how realistic it was, from the initial iconic ......"babum............babum.........babum........" to the final scene, it was amazing. It felt like that monstrous shark was right in the room with us, it was that real. And even in 2023, almost 50 years after Steven Speilberg took a chance on the book and on Richard Dreyfuss, this film holds up. I watch it every summer, and it gets me every time. I was no child the first time I saw it, I would have been married. But it had an impact on me. And it's also the reason why I never went in the deep water again, although I live on it and around it and always loved swimming. The dark water frightens me now, and I have a sharp fear of the things I cannot see.

As we know now, sharks are all around our Island, why wouldn't they be? Lots of food. Either nice fat swimmers, or the ready call of the seal colonies, one right outside my door.

The "Ocearch" research vessel that catches and tags sharks was parked overnight in Rollo Bay year before last, so don't try and tell me that Jaws himself might not be lurking....

As I always say, every time I hear of a shark attack or sighting......if you don't want to be attcked by sharks, stay out of their kitchen. When you're in the water, you're in their wheelhouse.

And you better get a bigger boat.

And speaking of movies, how about the famous Drive In Movies; now there was entertainment way ahead of it's time.

How convenient!

There was a drive in theatre in a lot of small towns. We all remember the Kingsway, but how many of you went to Sturgeon? That was a dandy little drive in. Pull in, get your parking space. Get out to pick up your food in the concession stand. Affix the speakers to your car windows. (Yes I know that nowadays, you just tune in your car radio for sound.....) Eat, prepare to be entertained, and bring on all the necking you can stand. There was usually lots of action on the screen, but it had nothing on the action going on in the cars all around us. Visitors from outer space would have though it was some sort of primitive group mating ritual here on Earth. Sometimes I had to make up stories about the movie, Momma would always ask me what the show was about, and since I hardly saw any of it, I'd be stammering.....Was this true? A lady never tells..

But....

Number 1 : mosquitoes were always a problem, as the drive ins were always out in a field in the country, and in order to get sound for the movie, the windows had to be rolled down a little to accomodate the speakers

Number 2 : the kitchens that prepared the food might be a little sketchy. The smell of the fried onions and juicy hamburgers were enough to drive you crazy. We always got a nice feed. However, Nova's sensitive stomach is nothing new. I will never forget the night I enjoyed a delicious hamburger and fries, but ended up throwing most of it up on the side of the road all the way home. I had the worst aversion to hamburgers for years after that, I couldn't even look at one.

Ah, the things you remember.

Throughout our married life, we continued to go to the movies. When the kids came along, we made sure that they didn't have to wait until they got married to see their first movie. We took them as soon as there were movies suitable for them. And of all things, years later, we took Isabell's youngest child Velvet to her first movie. We picked her up to see "Home Alone" at the Souris Showhall with our own girls, and we all enjoyed it. It was and still is another Holiday classic, and unforgettable. They were three excited little girls, all jammed in to the very front row. They thought that was awesome, although they all learned later that the front row isn't the best row! The first movie our boys saw was "Free Willy" another great movie to see on the big screen. When that giant orca leaped out of the water, it felt like he was going right over our heads! A scene not to be forgotten. We also watched "Titanic" at the Charlottetown Cinema, the only way to truly appreciate the magnitude of that movie.

But times change and priorities change and we don't go to movies much anymore. When Souris showhall quit the movies and our family grew, it wasn't easy anymore. It was much harder to orchestrate a trip to Charlottetown just to buy sneakers for four growing kids; movies went way down on the list. And home entertainment filled the gap. I remember getting our first colored TV, Jamie bought it, and even that technology was kind of shitty for a while.

But look at us now. Netflix has changed TV forever. And I'm not complaining. Or apologizing. I'll give up coffee before I'll give up my internet. As I write this, it is Sunday evening and I am waiting for my cooking show to come on. Again, I won't apologize. It's entertaining and I learn a lot.

My aunt Isabell isn't around anymore to share this story with. She will never know how much she influenced my life. The experience I had with her was unforgettable.

But little did she (or I) know, that at the back of the theatre while "Love Story" was playing that night, a dark haired boy was sitting alone. It would be a couple more years before we would meet up at a High School dance, and my fate would be sealed forever.