Hooray for Hollywood

 

Hooray for Hollywood!

My first memories of movies are the Thin Man flicks. This was in the late 1930’s and I was no more than 3 or 4 years old. And….. yes, I do remember a lot from when I was that age. I was an only child until years later when my first sister was born. My parents took me with them to the movies. I remember rushing to get in before 6 – the bargain prices went up to 25 cents after 6. I was in my pajamas and slippers for an easy transition from the theater, the car, and home to my bed.

I had a little bag of treats – I don’t remember what, but I don’t think it was candy. Even at that age, my choice was salt and fat. Maybe pretzels or nuts or potato chips along with a little mason jar of water.

The Thin Man movies never won an Oscar, but for pure entertainment they were unbeatable. And…… in my child’s mind, I thought that was the life style that adults lived. When I grew up, I would be living the life of Nora Charles and her PI husband Nick. My mother and father even looked a little like them. I would be glamorous and rich and my husband Nick and I would be solving mysteries all over the exciting and beautiful city of San Francisco.

Well, I grew up. I got married - to a lawyer not a private eye - had two sons, and settled into the life of the 60’s housewife and mother. Betty Crocker cookbooks, hanging diapers out in the sun, and having people for dinner and bridge. Not exactly the glamorous life of Nora Charles and her dashing husband Nick. Yes, you guessed it. Just like the guy who went to Casablanca for the waters – I was misinformed!

I need to digress and compare the movie going experience of yesteryear with what we experience today. Yes, Tuesday afternoon tickets are discounted but the popcorn is $9. Okay, I’ll pay because it’s the only way the theater can stay open. What I find annoying is having to choose your seat with only a small number of seats remaining. And then finding, when entering there are only a handful of people in the theater. My son has a theory – could there be so much money in Silicon Valley that people pay and order on line just for the option of going to the movie if they feel like it? A far cry from the 1930’s rush to get there before six when the price of a ticket went up to 25 cents!

Anyway, to do a full circle, 85 years later, I’m still watching movies in my pajamas but instead of a mason jar of water I’m sipping a glass of wine, reclining on my chaise lounge, watching movies on Netflix enabling a quick transition to bed!