| Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 05:46 AM |
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Leep
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There were two movie houses in our town when I was small, and they stood beside one another. This fateful night there were two nine year old children, myself and kate, standing side by side straining towards the right while the dreaded baby sitter, holding me by the arm was straining harder to drag us to the movie house on the left. "Hey, I yelled, Mom said you were supposed to take us to the Jerry Lewis double feature" :Shut up before I smack you,. we're going to see this one." I was a child with a mouth on me and never had sense enough to know when to shut up. I looked warily at the other movie house, The Wilson Theatre, And looked longingly at the other, The El Patio. It even looked nicer with posters behind the clear glass showing Jerry Lewis hanging onto a ladder with a bucket of paint tipping off the top rung. But , it was not to be. Sue, the hated baby sitter had spoken. With a strength that of a Hercules, or at least of one stronger than two little 9 year olds, she dragged our unwilling bodies inexoribly towards the left. I looked over at Kate, hating her almost as much as her big sister, she never complained at whatever Sue decided to do. There was an eerie red light seeping from under the doors at the front of the theatre, and the guy selling the tickets looked at us with lopsided leer on his mug. One eye on us and the other on Sue. I could never understand why all the guys almost fell over them selves being nice to her, if they knew her like I did , they would have avoided her like the plague. Of course, about 5 years later I noticed that something had changed about her, and definitely for the better. She was still my babysitter, but I sure didn't mind anymore. I'm not sure what changed about her, but I liked it. Ahem, back to the story. This night though was different, very different, and was due to change me in a way that I would not recover from for some time. I noticed that the Marqee read, "Playing tonight, Dracula" What the hell was a Dracula, I wondered. I was soon to find out, to my eternal horror, well maybe not horror, but it wasn't one of my better nights. Sue continued to drag us towards the doors and then, we were inside. The gaunt gentleman that took your ticket and tore it in half had an eerie resemblance to Boris Karloff. Course I didn't find out who he was till later, but he sure was spooky looking .But, when you're nine and possessed with the imagination I was, it didn't take much to set it in gear. As I said Sue was jerking my unwilling body along while Kate went along with no trouble, dang traitor, well what did i expect, she was a dang girl too, and Sue's little sister. As we neared the concession stand, Sue slapped me alongside the head and warned me in no uncertain terms to not move from this spot till I get back or I'll kill you , you little red headed son -of a beech. Another trip to the bathroom, what was it with women? There were a few guys standing around, some with their own girlfriends, and all the guys were looking either openly or covertly at her, depending on whether they had a girl in tow at the time. I couldn't resist. I hollered, making sure all could hear, "Hey, don't go stealing those white things out of the bathroom and putting them under your arms for deodorant pads again , either." The glee I felt lasted only as long as it took for the beam of pure venom to strike me senseless. I did notice, however that the girls there found it hilarious, while the guys shot me the same look and muttered under their breaths something about drowning them when they were born. I'm not sure what they were talking about. All too soon, there she was, looking to see if anyone was watching, then grabbing my arm and hissing, "I'm gonna kill you when this is over." Humphh, I hadn't heard that before, only about a dozen times a day. Suddenly we were in the movie proper and I looked all around me at the people who were there. "Hey I said, there ain't no other kids here, what kind of movie is this anyhow." The shhss that erupted from both aisles won me another smack on the head and approving nods from all within hearing distance. I wanted to sit in the back, but no- the wicked witch of the east had other plans. "We'll sit in the middle close to the front, I'm looking for somebody." "Ah , what the hell, It's where i usually sit anyway" See, I could think words like that and even say them when no one was around, but watch out if you forgot and said them in mixed company, namely parents, adults, or a rotten babysitter. Well there we were then, finally in our seats, and it might not be too bad, there was a cartoon playing, Bugs Bunny, and I liked Bugs. He was a rabbit after my own heart. But all too soon, that ended and next on the screen was an image of a castle in the night, rain pouring down relentlessly, and what was this? A carriage , being pulled by four black horses. It was kind of interesting but for the music, ah yes, the music. You can always tell about a movie by the music, and this wasn't good, no not at all, .Scary, spooky music. The driver was whipping the horses and they were running full out , with nostrils flaring and manes streaming back in the downpour. Suddenly, they were racing into a courtyard through huge wooden gates. I looked around fearfully at the others i could see in the dark. All were nonchalantly watching, save for a couple who were leaning forward in breathless anticipation. Lightning flashed and thunder roared and clashed all around us. The horses came to a stop finally and a man all in black opened the door of the carriage and, carrying a black valise, strode purposely toward the entrance to the castle. The lightning flashed continuously , showing his figure as a flickering strobe as he finally entered the castle. Candles burned brightly from the chandeleirs that hung from the cavernous room. The man took off his wet slicker and walked quietly, but quickly up the winding stairway, to what? I knew not, but it couldn't be good. Then, the picture changed suddenly to a young, beautiful woman rocking in her chair before a fireplace. A large fireplace that held a bright, crackling fire. But , i instinctively knew that whatever heat was pouring out of that fireplace would never be enough to warm that room. The rocker made quiet creaking sounds as she rocked back and forth, back and forth. I sat stiff as a board, almost frozen with dread and , yes, not a little anticipation. "What was happening", I thought, but perhaps a better question was, "what was going to happen?" Suddenly, the doorknob on the outside of the room turned slowly, as a hand enclosed in a black leather glove twisted the brass knob. But , wait, the knob turned only slightly and then met stiff resisteence. Aha, I thought, you won't get in there , you damn vampire. I forgot to say that I was pretty sure what Dracula was, because his Dang picture was pasted all over the dang movie house, inside and outside. With pretty women standing around with blood running down their throats. I glanced over at Kate to see if she was in mortal dread at this latest discovery. No, she was sitting there eating juicy fruits and looking around with interest at the balcony behind her. Dumb ol' girl. Well, back to the story: The beautiful girl stiffened for a second and the rocker stopped as she bent forward listening for the sound that had risen over the soothing sounds the rocker was making. The hand was still trying to turn the doorknob, now giving it a little shake too. "Keep Quiet, I thought, maybe he'll go away." Nope: She looked at the door and with fear dripping from her voice, asked shakily, "Who's out there?" The music took a sudden turn in pitch and volume: Suddenly, a black shape came hurtling out of the fire in the fireplace. What the hell is it, I thought, my mind unable to keep up with all that was happening. Then , I realized it was a huge black Bat. It swooped around the room for a second , then , oh no, it turned into Dracula, black cape, big teeth and all. The woman screamed , the vampire grabbed her, the door came crashing in, and there stood the man with the black valise, who had just recently been in the carriage. I only saw the next few seconds. Now, I am sure when interviewing the shaken patrons of the movie later, they were asked this question. "What the hell happened in here?" And, I heard later, from friends of my parents and that stupid babysitter, what just did transpire. My recollection is a little shaky. Several of the movie goers testified that all they can remember is this keening , wailing sound, that grew louder and louder till they were forced to cover their ears in fear that permanent damage might occur. Others swore that they saw this red streak that flashed by them so quickly , that when they did hear that noise, they were unable to corroborate that It came from the same source. All I know is, I was gone man, gone. I raced back the aisle at such speed that as I passed each row, popcorn was sucked out of all the buckets and went flying up the aisle at breathtaking speed. With remarkable results. Pop was drawn out of paper cups mingling with the popcorn, causing a strange mixture, and the sound it made is still talked about today. But, the most interesting phenomenon was the multi colored juicy fruits that were streaming along behind me , reds, yellows, green, and don't forget the dreaded black. These missiles of destruction made the most interesting sounds as they caromed off everyone who had the bad judgement to stand and crane their heads for a glimpse of the maker of the noise. I could faintly hear them cursing and yelling in fear and pain as i raced by them. I was in the clutches of such fear that I could not, would not be stopped. As I raced into the lobby , I saw the popcorn guy take one right in the kisser, I believe it was a red one. I never liked him much anyway. The hollering he engaged in was music to my ears as I flew out of the lobby into the outer lobby and , barely hesitating, tore open the door and raced onto the sidewalk. . The followers I had been carrying along with me, no longer able to defy gravity, made little plopping sounds as they wearily came to rest on the floor, the walls, and on the unfortunate patrons. Good for them, I thought later, they shoulda knew better that to let a little kid like me in a movie like that. But, back to me: I had hit the door at full speed, raced onto the sidewalk and like a streak of red fire, literally flew down the walk, until something, fear, exhaustion, something stopped me. I stood there , alone gasping for air, desperately trying to breathe. But when I finally was able to catch my breath , I finally took a quick look around at my surroundings. On no, you idiot. I had run so fast, in so short a time that I had outrun the arc lights, and now stood engulfed in darkness. And every kid knew that was where the monsters lived. Statues would have been proud of me. I stood frozen in fear, a condition I was already too familiar with. Looking back, I saw glimmering faintly in the distance, The last arc light. A beacon of safety, calling me back to it's loving embrace. With a little wail of fear to spur me on, I shot back towards that light. I heard later the Flash had been in our town: It was told that he ran home and walked slowly into the house with a slightly bewildered expression on his face. His wife looked at him from her rocker and said with concern, "What is it honey, what's the matter." He walked over to the couch and sat down and looked at his wife for a second, with a bemused look upon his face, and said, "Honey, I used to think I was fast, I used to think I could run. but I saw this little red-headed kid tonight , and, ah well never mind." well, back to me: I later learned that my aunt Ruth was at the same movie that night. Luckily she had been sitting on the far aisle, out of the way of the speeding projectiles that were knocking off the local townspeople left and right. But, she was close enough to recognize her favorite nephew as he raced by her at warp speed. She immediately ran out the aisle and rushed into the snight after me. When she emerged onto the sidewalk, I was no longer in sight. Worried for me then, she made her way slowly down the sidewalk in my direction. I was already enroute back to the safety of the flickering , glimmering arc lights. I later learned my Aunt always wore this long, sweeping, black coat. She had coal black hair and dark flashing eyes. As i raced frantically back towards safety and salvation, she suddenly appeared and recognizing me, threw open her voluminious black coat and engulfed me in it. All I remember is this Black , ominous figure with a big black cape and as I felt myself being crushed in it's dark embrace , I simply died. I heard that it was a wonderful service, everyone was there. But, no, the next thing I remember, upon regaining consciousness was her soothing voice saying, " it's ok honey, Aunt Ruth has you." Looking back, it was a hot, hot summer. And, it's hard to get any rest or sleep when you are under the sheet and balnket, with only the smallest airway looking out. The lights were left on all the time, which delighted the local co-op. But, everything passes with time. One night , years later, I was twelve , accompanied by my two younger brothers, ten and nine, I stood again in front of that theatre. With a hand in each of mine, my trusting brothers followed me blindly into another episode from hell. Now, I don't know why it took the movie industry twenty years to install a rating system, I only know it came much too late to be of any service to me and my little brothers. No one said, "Little boys, ah, maybe you shouldn't go and see this movie." No, and the same creep was in the ticket window, looking around for the babysitter, I would guess. And , not seeing her, gave us the full benefit of his vacant, vacuous stare. Walking into the inner sanctum I espied the same Boris look alike, with the same evil grin. He took our tickets, tore them in half and with a sibilant whisper said, "Enjoy the movie . boys." We walked hesitantly down the middle aisle. About halfway down, I felt sudden resistance from my little brothers. I stopped and looked down at them with an inquiring look. The music, that damnable music. What had we walked into this time? We never did sit down that night. What was the name of that movie again, I asked my one brother. "I don't know , he whispered , Psycho, whatever that means?" we looked up at the giant screen at another horrific sight, There, twenty feet high was a beautiful woman, in the shower. Suddenly, then , the curtain was ripped back and a hand holding aknife was flashing, up and down, water turning red. That music! And a wailing, keening sound, this coming from my two brothers. Dropping our hastily purchased juicy fruits, we turned as one and, this time with three breaking the sound barrier, raced back up the aisle. The people in our town had long memories, good ,resiliant people, and I learned later there were no casualties from our combined efforts. Save for one old gentleman., who although hard of hearing, insisted on sitting in the balcony. I guess the combined speed and force of three of us lifted some of the propellents up to the nethersphere. His cries of surprised pain followed us out into the street. I had learned my lesson also, and after all I was now twelve and had to set an example to my younger brothers. So, we stopped right outside the theatre. " Wow, what the hell was that", my one brother asked in a shaky voice. "Yeah, the youngest one opined, That scared the crap outa me?" "Now what are we gonna do" "That movie sucks and we are broke." I stuck a hand in my pocket and glumly surveyed the results. "How much ya got, " Dave asked. " Yeah", said Jim, how much you got?" "Bout a dollar," I said. "Hey, thats enough for us all to get in the El Patio, It only costes a quarter." He kinda talked funny, sometimes, but he was a pretty good brother, as brothers go: they both were. We walked slowly to the front of the theatre: Music, real music was seeping out from under the doors. And, laughter. yeah , that was real laughing, and the light that showed under the bottom of the doors was , yellow, and bright. And look, the guy at the ticket window was almost normal looking, with a real smile. My brothers looked at me in askance. After all, I was the only one with any money. And, I was the oldest. " Ok guys, I said- Lets go in and watch it." With smiles that lit up the darkness, we walked into the movie house. I stopped and looked at the posters behind the glass on the walls. "Hey look guys, look at what is playing." With three grins the three brothers walked into the movie and sat down, up front, middle row. I walked back the aisle, They whispered, "Where ya' goin?" "To get us some juicy fruits." "Well hurry up the movies starting soon." "Ok. I will." As I walked slowly back down the aisle towards our seats I looked up at the screen. A Jerry Lewis double feature, Finally: Leep Out .
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| Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 01:36 PM |
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2nd Post |
armoredman
Master Ballistician and Handloader
| Joined: | Sat Apr 8th, 2006 |
| Location: | Arizona USA |
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Nice story...and BOY, are you dating yourself!
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| Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 04:45 PM |
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3rd Post |
Rockydog
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| Joined: | Tue Jul 26th, 2005 |
| Location: | Wisconsin USA |
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Leep, Great story! There is a song witten by an Australian, Eric Bogle about the Saturday matinee. I thought of it while reading your story as I obviously dates to about the same time. RD
FRONT ROW COWBOY
(Eric Bogle)
1. On Saturday mornings I'd ride to the movies,
Booted and spurred on my horse made of tin
Tie-up my cyi-use outside on the pavement
Lay down my sixpence and mosey on in.
I'd sit in the front row with the other young cowboys
Waitin' for Roy to appear on the screen
Waitin' for Roy and his golden horse Trigger,
To carry me off into my favorite dream.
Chorus:
Roy Rogers, Roy Rogers, Oh you were my hero,
A man made of steel on a horse made of gold
Together we rode through the days of my childhood
Memories like heroes, they never grow old.
2. Together we rode over mountains and valleys
Camped out a night 'neath the wide prairie sky,
We'd sing cowboy songs as we sat by the campfire
While out in the darkness a wild coyote cried
Yi-pi-tie-yi-yo baked beans and coffee,
Tall tales and true as we sat by the fire
Then up in the morning and away we'd go riding.
Two gay caballeros, two heroes for hire.
3. And now I'm a man, and I've hung up my six-gun
No more do I ride on a horse made of tin.
Now I ride subways, and freeways and railways,
Instead of a six-gun I now wield a pen.
But part of my heart will always be ridin'
Along the bright canyons and the wild forest ways
Along with Roy Rogers my faithful companion,
Into the sunset of my childhood days.
(end, after chorus)
He was my friend, yes, he was my friend.
He never let me down.
He was honest and faithful right up to the end
I loved Roy Rogers 'cause he was my friend.
Copyright Larrikin Music, Ltd.
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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~ Thomas Jefferson ~
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| Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 05:27 PM |
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Leep
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Armor..I take great exception to that remark....Dating myself????
I've been married to a great looking woman for almost 35 years, so why would I have to date myself.. dang kids anyway... 
Rocky..great song/story there too. I can relate to every word and i lived almost to the letter what he was writing about..
Take care guys...
Leep: 
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