In past times, my "trick" on a five-night trip to a small country town that had its own movie theater would have been to get to that theater, at least once if not twice. With five nights at your disposal, it's not even a hindrance on any of your fellow travelers. Just this past summer -- winter in Australia -- I went to the local cinema in Lakes Entrance to see both Sonic the Hedgehog, and a repertory screening of Mary Poppins, which I had never seen.
This past week, I made it to the Mansfield Armchair Cinema, pictured above, exactly zero times.
Oh, it had been my intention to go. I had not yet seen any of the films playing there, which at different times during our stay included Wonder Woman 1984, The Croods: A New Age, The Dry and Words on Bathroom Walls. And I got as far as the lobby on our second-to-last full day, when I asked about whether the next day's shows were in danger of selling out. They were, so if we were to buy tickets, we probably ought to do it today.
But when it didn't work out, I let it go without further comment, and that's the part that encourages me about my own ability to surprise myself.
It wasn't that we didn't have the time, but that we, collectively, did not have the inclination.
I had expected to take my younger son, who turned seven on January 1st, to The Croods on his birthday. We had known it was going to rain that day. My wife was even planning a concurrent viewing of The Dry for her, her sister and her mother -- an escape to The Dry to get out of the wet, you could say. I guess we figured we'd force my older son along to The Croods.
But then it was revealed that not only did my older son not want to see The Croods -- which we already knew -- but neither did his brother. Forcing one would have been achievable, but not both -- especially if the second one we were forcing was having a birthday. (Incidentally, I sort of blame myself, for making a dismissive comment about this movie sometime in mid-December, when I did not know this scenario would arise.)
Wonder Woman was my next best hope, but my wife was uncertain whether it would be too adult for the seven-year-old. He's watched a handful of Marvel movies, but my wife was not willing to extend that logic to exposing him to this movie. The fact that she wanted to see it on a bigger screen -- we have that option in Australia, at least for now -- also factored into her thinking.
I still could have seen one of the other movies, but this small community theater plays its last show each day by about 6:40. I just couldn't see my way to skipping out on a whole night's dinner just to scratch my itch to visit small theaters in small towns.
To be sure, my wife would have still helped me work it out. Our trip was long enough that I could have gotten away in one of the afternoons, especially since our kids are accustomed to some afternoon downtime -- meaning time playing video games.
But instead I just decided to let it go.
And part of letting it go was never mentioning it again once it was clear it was not going to happen. In the past, had I been thwarted in such an attempt, I might have made solemn, regretful comments which would have let my wife know I had not really let it go. This time, I just decided that what was done was done, and it would never get mentioned again.
Besides, I think we'll be back to Mansfield. If this place is great in the summer, it's even better in the winter, where it serves Mt. Buller, a rare Australian spot with the elevation to support skiing. Which, incidentally, has its own theater, where we saw Aladdin on a visit in 2019.
And if for some reason we don't get back here, life will go on.
I can't visit every small theater in every small town, and knowing that is a part of growing up as an evolved human being.
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