Tonight I had the pleasure of joining my son and grandson to drive into town to see a new movie. Now I very seldom go to the movie theaters anymore-something that I once loved doing often when I was younger. Although I still love movies, I am now at the age that I am content to sit at home and watch movies on HBO, Showtime, and Pay Per View.
Tonight, however, was a totally new experience to me and made me realize just how old I am getting. The movie was in 3-D.
Do you remember the old cardboard 3-D glasses with the plastic colored lenses-the ones that you got to keep after the movie? Well, you know you're getting old when you go to see a 3-D movie and the glasses could pass as
Sherwood or
Pinehurst. Naturally, you don't get to keep them. A person is waiting just outside the door to collect them as you come out.
Do you remember when the cost to watch a movie at the theater was 25 cents and your popcorn and soda and candy came to a total of, maybe, 75 cents? Another way to tell you're getting old-my trip tonight cost me eight dollars for my ticket and cost my son twenty dollars for one medium bag of popcorn, one large drink, and three small boxes of candy and sixteen dollars for two tickets for himself and my grandson. We paid two dollars each extra for the glasses-which we had to return-I'm feeling older by the minute! Total cost for three people to see a movie and have refreshments: $44.
Was the movie worth this cost? Probably not. To see my grandson's excitement when the characters reached out of the screen and nearly touched his face-priceless. The movie we saw was
Monsters vs Aliens. Fantastic cartoon. May not be as good on my TV now that I've been exposed to this new-age 3-D; but I enjoyed it immensely at the theater.
Now I'm looking forward to the time when we can see 3-D movies on our big-screen TV's in our living rooms! Or, this could just be another sign of old age; they don't have this option already, do they? Now I can hardly wait for the new 3-D
Ice Age to hit the theaters.
We all learn something new everyday and it isn't unusual to relate to the old saying-you know you're such and such when
My son teaches me something new on the computer every day and I have worked with computers for many years and many years before he was even born. Of course, I don't feel so bad because I know that any time you buy a computer, it is out of date by the very next day. So old age doesn't mean everything. I personally don't mind getting old; I've had a wonderful life and feel that I can truthfully say that I have left my mark and made my peace with God. Getting old is just one more event in life's many stages.
I often have people ask me if I can remember when gasoline was under fifty cents a gallon; sure, I remember when it was twenty two cents-but that was during the early seventy's gas wars. I remember paying 1800 dollars for a brand new vehicle. There are so many memories that are a sign that I know I'm getting old, but that's ok; it is something that we all have to do and it doesn't hurt a bit.
Best wishes to all and Happy Aging to those who are getting there.
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