Day 29

The movie theatre will always be a special place for me. I worked in my town's movie theatre on summer and holiday breaks from the time I was 16 until my third year of college. It was an awesome job for a teenager, and I loved every minute. It was my first taste of independance and another chance to be out of the house- I was always a people-person and looked for any opportunity to not be cooped up inside by myself. I worked with great people, including my two best girlfriends, and several other people I went to high school with. My parents never let me spend my paychecks, instead insisting that I put all of it in my savings account for college. But for some reason that never really bothered me. I mean, what was I going to do with the money- go to the movies?

Working at the movie theatre taught me so many things:

- Customer service and how to deal with the public- something I think every young person should experience. I dealt with crazy parents who screamed at me when we sold out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Beauty and the Beast. I dealt with lewd, drunk guys who came to the midnight shows with their buddies. I learned how to keep my calm when someone complained about the price of popcorn when we both knew I wasn't the one making the prices. And best of all, I learned how to break up couples making out in the back of the movie theatre. Oh, the stories I could tell you...

- I learned how to work hard and stay focused in chaos, ensuring a correct money count at the end of my shift. We had seven theatres, and many times only 2-4 of us worked the concession stand. You had to be fast and accurate, because of course noone gets to the movies early and they don't want to miss the previews!

- I learned how to do dirty work, cleaning public restrooms and popping popcorn in a broom closet for 8 hours a day. To this day, I cannot eat popcorn aside from a bite or two out of my husband's bucket. More than that makes me ill.

- I waded through a young woman's first entaglement with dating a co-worker, and learned many life lessons in that experience....

One of the best perks of working at the theatre was that I got to see movies for free. That's right- free! And free popcorn and soda. As an employee, I got a special card that allowed me and a guest a certain number of free passes each week. I didn't pay to see a movie for 5 years.

New movies always premier on Fridays. That means that actual movies get delivered to the theatres on Thursday nights. I loved Thursday nights. The guys would go out on the ladder after all the last movies were started and change over the marquee signs. Then, once all the customers had left, we would lock the doors like we were a secret club, go into the best theatre with pizza and beer (and popcorn of course) and watch the new movie before anyone else got to see it.

I took my son and his friend to see "47 Ronin" the other day. I figured it was a win-win situation- sword fighting for them...Keanu Reeves for me. And when the kid at the concession stand asked me if I would like to increase my drink size to a large "for just 35 more cents" I smiled politely and said,  "Of course", knowing they would be tracking how many larges he sold at the end of the night. I made sure to pick up my trash instead of leaving it in the aisle. And I made extra sure that I didn't leave any pee on the seat when I went to the bathroom that anyone else would have to clean up.

Do you remember your first real job? I hope it provides as nice of memories as mine. Except I still shudder a little whenever I see a Mutant Nina Turtle.

Today's picture represents nostalgic happiness, and the importance of learning how to work hard at a young age.