In the winter of 1974, my mother decided it was time I went to a movie theater for the first time (I was 4yrs old). She took me to the Strand Theater in downtown Gilmer, TX. I was not too sure about this strange new experience, and I was actually frightened when she took me into the dark auditorium that smelled of spilled soda and old popcorn. In fact, I started crying and throwing a wall-eyed fit. I begged to go…but she held strong and drug me to the middle of the huge auditorium and put me in a seat beside her. I was literally in hysterics and kept pushing her to leave…and then something magical happened…a beautiful bright picture hit the screen. The film was a Disney-esque documentary called “The Wonder of it All” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185015/
And I was transfixed. I sat back in my chair, my eyes glued to the screen, and my mind racing due to the spectacle before me. It seemed no time had passed at all before the credits ran and Mother was getting up and telling me it was time to go. However, something changed in me during the blessed hour and a half of the film’s run time…I no longer wanted to leave. I wanted to stay…and experience that magic for the rest of my life. I was in love and it was overwhelming. And so, just as I had done coming in, but for new reasons, I started throwing another big fit and fought to stay in what I hoped would be my new home. My poor beleaguered mother had to literally drag me out of there as I refused to work my legs. I am sure the usher thought I was the worst brat on the planet, and the funny thing was, I was actually a very good and calm child. I never threw a fit about anything. I was content to sit alone and play with my toys or look at the pictures in my little Golden Books for hours on end. And yet, here I was, losing my 4 year old mind over that alluring image on the big screen…cutting loose all sorts of hell for the second time in one day. Needless to say, those were different times, and as soon as we were back in the car and out of sight of the public and the judgmental usher…I got one heck of a whooping. And I deserved it. But it did nothing to diminish my new love. It never left me. And now, well into middle age, I have spent a large portion of my life chasing that feeling I had that wonderful evening. I have collected thousands of movies in every format imaginable and I got into the theater business as early as I could and have run movie and live theaters all over the South for over 36 years. It all started in 1974 at the Strand Theater in downtown Gilmer, TX. When it closed the following year, I truly thought my life was over…until my sister told me about the River Road Drive In Theater in neighboring Longview, TX…then, I realized there were other theaters out there in this big old world, and my new goal was to see and experience them all.
In the winter of 1974, my mother decided it was time I went to a movie theater for the first time (I was 4yrs old). She took me to the Strand Theater in downtown Gilmer, TX. I was not too sure about this strange new experience, and I was actually frightened when she took me into the dark auditorium that smelled of spilled soda and old popcorn. In fact, I started crying and throwing a wall-eyed fit. I begged to go…but she held strong and drug me to the middle of the huge auditorium and put me in a seat beside her. I was literally in hysterics and kept pushing her to leave…and then something magical happened…a beautiful bright picture hit the screen. The film was a Disney-esque documentary called “The Wonder of it All” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185015/ And I was transfixed. I sat back in my chair, my eyes glued to the screen, and my mind racing due to the spectacle before me. It seemed no time had passed at all before the credits ran and Mother was getting up and telling me it was time to go. However, something changed in me during the blessed hour and a half of the film’s run time…I no longer wanted to leave. I wanted to stay…and experience that magic for the rest of my life. I was in love and it was overwhelming. And so, just as I had done coming in, but for new reasons, I started throwing another big fit and fought to stay in what I hoped would be my new home. My poor beleaguered mother had to literally drag me out of there as I refused to work my legs. I am sure the usher thought I was the worst brat on the planet, and the funny thing was, I was actually a very good and calm child. I never threw a fit about anything. I was content to sit alone and play with my toys or look at the pictures in my little Golden Books for hours on end. And yet, here I was, losing my 4 year old mind over that alluring image on the big screen…cutting loose all sorts of hell for the second time in one day. Needless to say, those were different times, and as soon as we were back in the car and out of sight of the public and the judgmental usher…I got one heck of a whooping. And I deserved it. But it did nothing to diminish my new love. It never left me. And now, well into middle age, I have spent a large portion of my life chasing that feeling I had that wonderful evening. I have collected thousands of movies in every format imaginable and I got into the theater business as early as I could and have run movie and live theaters all over the South for over 36 years. It all started in 1974 at the Strand Theater in downtown Gilmer, TX. When it closed the following year, I truly thought my life was over…until my sister told me about the River Road Drive In Theater in neighboring Longview, TX…then, I realized there were other theaters out there in this big old world, and my new goal was to see and experience them all.