1983, Robinson, Illinois
with my family and Rhonda
To say this movie was popular would be an understatement. I've never met anyone that didn't like it.
E.T. was the first commercial movie I ever experienced. He was everywhere. Personally, I know I had a folder and a purple t-shirt and I think one of the three of us had the actual stuffed animal.
He was even used to get kids to wear their seat belts. My town of Guilford still has the signs up. I hope kids still know who he is-my three do.
I tried to snap a shot of the buckle up signs all over town-I'm sorry it came out blurry. My name is not Annie Leibovitz.
OK, so my little town never took their E.T. signs down. Which is a good thing, because not only do we now buckle our kids, but we put them in the car seats and don't let them ride in the front!
You know what else makes this perfect? The first time I saw E.T., I was in a small town. I had moved from the metropolis of Houston, Texas to southern Illinois. The town was called Robinson. One elementary school, one middle school, one high school. One movie theater that played one movie at a time.
I had a best friend, I always have a best friend. In all three states my best friend was a blonde-my first friend here was a blonde (she might have dyed it though, don't talk to her anymore). This best friend was different from the other two. I don't remember ever having a fight with this girl. I don't remember us getting catty or competitive. Neither of us were insufferable know-it-alls. We did what we did without a fight.
We went to see E.T. in the one auditorium movie theater. It was PACKED. Because the town was small, a lot of our classmates were there and if they weren't there their siblings were. Sometimes the librarian or one of the waitresses at the diner would go see a movie. Have I always had a way of knowing everyone?
She and I were sitting in the row ahead of our parents. They let us do that to think we were cool. We were eating popcorn and as we were watching the movie and Elliott was letting frogs go, we heard the announcement.
ATTENTION! CONCESSIONS IS CLOSING IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!
This tiny little theater would interrupt a movie to let everyone know they had fifteen minutes left for Milkduds.
Could you imagine:
Terms of Endearment: GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE ...ATTENTION! CONCESSIONS IS CLOSING
Soylent Green is....ATTENTION! CONCESSIONS IS CLOSING!
Time for your medication...time for medication..time for ATTENTION! CONCESSIONS IS CLOSING!
Bud would have never found out Sissy cleaned the trailer instead of Pam if they had lived in Robinson, because concessions would have interrupted.
I love a good small town with it's quirks and routines. Maybe that is what keeps me here.
Tomorrow starts Holy Movie Week! The first one will be ATTENTION CONCESSIONS IS CLOSING!!!
See you Holy Monday!