Movies and a Memory

A long time ago, when we first moved to Cleveland, Ohio, from Utica, New York, my family lived in a room above the old Capitol Theater on West 65^th Street in Cleveland. It took my parents a while to find a bigger place to rent. At that time, it seemed that owners didn’t much like to rent to families with small children. In the meantime, we lived above the Capitol Movie Theater.

 

Living in a small one bedroom apartment was hard, especially with two young active children under the age of 11. Since it was such a long time ago, I can’t remember all the particulars. The only thing that I still remember is that my brother and I went down to the movie theater every night and saw movies. During that time there was always a double-header of two movies at the shows. We saw the same movies over and over for a week, until the new ones began. Not a bad thing to happen to two little kids, along with the popcorn, pop and candy. It was a heavenly treat and thus began my love affair with movies.

 

Going to the movies, learning the names of the movies, the stars, and their lines, played an important part in the life of my brother and me. On our long nine hour drives to Utica, my brother and I played the movie or initial game. We would pantomime the movie and the other person would have to figure it out. Or we would throw out one of the movie stars initials, and have to guess who that person was. Or we would quote a particular line from a movie and try to guess the name of the movie and the characters. My brother and I became movie trivia buffs that way. Plus it helped to keep us occupied in the car until we fell asleep.

 

Now, television and the movies have pervaded our lives. I used to watch all the cartoon shows, MTV, and a number of television series with my kids. On weekends and during the summertime, we went to the movies. My kids are great at reciting a famous line or two from a movie and the others can tell you what movie and what character said it. They can also watch a movie and tell you what other movies the major or minor characters have been in.

 

A movie always brings me back to the old days of being with my brother. It is a connection that I have carried on with my own children and grandchildren. The only thing better than seeing one movie – is seeing two for the price of one. But that only happens in a Drive-In now, if you are lucky to find one still in operation.