Going to watch a matinee movie was always a special treat. I suppose like many of you, there was a special day in the month when Vic, Dennis and I were allowed to spend an afternoon in the movie house watching an assortment of monster movies, westerns and an occasional mystery movie.
There were a few preliminaries that we always indulged in as we made our preparations for such expeditions. I always have considered myself a normal person so please let me know if you did the same thing I did.
First, I always made sure I had my slingshot in my back pocket.
Secondly, before entering the show house I would stop at the neighborhood store and buy all the chewing gum I could with what little extra money I had.
Third, I'd try to get up into one of the chairs at the front of the theater.
Now we are ready for the fun so let the show begin.
As the lights darkened and the movie came up on the screen I would pop one of the pieces of chewing gum into my mouth. I always loved the first bites of chewing gum. All that sugar separating itself from the gum and making its delicious trip down into my stomach. You know how fast that sugar leaves though and then you are left with this tasteless bullet of gum in your mouth.
Did I say bullet? Of course I did, that is why I would always bring my slingshot along. After much of the sugar was gone from the gum it left a perfect little projectile that fit nicely into the leather tongue of my slingshot. The theater was always dark enough that I could aim the slingshot from my hip and launch my gum wad up at the theater screen and no one was any the wiser that some dastardly deed had just been committed.
Most times I couldn't tell if my gum wad even made it up to the screen. If it arrived, did it stick? If it did stick, was it on a brown tree or the black monster? I usually couldn't tell.
During one western starring, John Wayne I hit right on target. It was one of those close-up scenes where John Wayne's face covered the entire screen. I pulled back the rubber strings on my slingshot and let go with a very fine blob of gooey gum. Suddenly out of no where, John Wayne had a new mole on the left side of his forehead above his eye.
If you had been there that day it wouldn't have been a noticeable addition to his features but, I saw it immediately. That was the day I got the better of John Wayne.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
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5 comments:
No dad, you will be glad (or sad) to know I never did anything like that...not even a spit wad.
But, I know you aren't the only kid to do something like that so this story isn't as shocking as some others.
Ang
You are the reason that movie tickets now cost about 7 bucks. They have to pay someone to do plastic surgery to John Wayne's face and remove all that gum from the screen.
Shooting my dinner peas with my spoon onto the top of the cupboards is about for my days of fun!
I love your stories... just don't tell the boys or give them any ideas...haha!
Remind me why you show up as Rick the meek and mild ? He He
does the label "juvenile delinquent" come to mind?
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