Moved by the Movies

On my last day in California in 2013, I concluded my daily walk by thanking three people – the managers of Regal 5, Regal 6, and Varsity Theater. If they ever dug in to the number of movies I watched in the city of Davis during my few years there, it would be some embarrassing number. It is what I used to do almost every Friday when no exams or pressing last months of writing were around. It gave me space to be entirely myself, imagine, learn about adult relationships, empathize, and feel tears if I needed to emote. During this time when movie theaters aren’t as available, I found it necessary to appreciate how they shaped and influenced some of my important years when I was in my twenties. Once in Arizona, I got in to the same habit of visiting a movie theater three blocks away from my home. However, within a few months, it closed and moved to another location. That day I stood at the locked gates and told myself, “May be this is a sign. It is now time to create your own exciting life.”