Lisa and I were sitting next to each other in a movie theater just south of San Francisco - one of those theaters just off the highway so the screens are bigger than in one of those AMC mega-plex type things with plenty of seats and not the 'cleanest' aisles (popcorn drifts here and there, old and sticky soda lids here and there, and an empty box of Milk Duds nobody ever picked up. The theater itself was in the midst of some kind of a promotion to get people to go there, and part of that promotion was, incredibly unfortunately, a few video arcade games on the floor between the screen and the front row and a buffet of chocolates just outside the front door just to play upon the general association between people love of free food and happiness. I'd been waiting to see this movie. In this latest installment of the Jack Ryan series, our hero, Jack Ryan, was going to travel back and forth in time to right the wrong doings of some evil villains who misplaced our nation's presidents in different times. The lights start to go dim, and the chattering amongst the youth playing the arcade games at the front of the theater seemed to grow louder. By the time the trailers were over and we were beginning to make our way through the opening credits, the chatter, the noise, the constant traffic, and the nonstop opening and closing of the lobby door (the direct route to the chocolates) kept all attention focused on everything EXCEPT the movie. I told Lisa to call Kenn and Jessica and Dave and Adina on her cell phone to tell them not to bother to join us, and to tell them that we'll simply meet up for coffee and tea somewhere else. I made my way to the front desk in the theater lobby and, after some heated debate, some forceful poundings of my fist on the counter, and some incredibly audible cursing that make my cheeks turn red, I was 'this close' to convincing the hard-as-nails theater manager to give me back my money when all of a sudden... ...Lisa woke me up. Yep. I was about to get my money back, and it felt like I was about to achieve some incredible triumph. I mean, just a few bucks would have managed to find their way back into my pocket, but it felt like I just managed to find the right combination of words and gestures to convince the world's gasoline producers to switch to an ozone-friendly water-based fuel. But Lisa took that away from me. Granted, I love waking up to her. She rolls all over me, pulls my eyelids open to see if I'm awake, kisses me and tells me she loves me. It's a terrific thing - it really is. But hot damn, I was just about to slap that theater manager in the face with the Glove of Justice. Oh well... |
