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November 22, 2004I just hope Riverside doesn't run out of movie theaters any time soon...
I’ve been meaning to put in an entry for the last few days, but I’ve been swamped with work. I’m no less swamped now, and I’m actually girding my loins for an all-nighter tonight, but I figured I could treat myself to a few minutes of updating the ol’ website before taking my seat at the oar again. Or my spot in the coal mine. Or start pushing that boulder up the hill again, Sisyphus-style. The comparisons abound.
They’re tearing down one of the two defunct movie theaters in Canyon Crest Towne Center. It wouldn’t be so sad if they’d just knock it down and be done with it, but they seem content to leave half the building ruined and sagging, a torturous diorama to anybody for whom either of those theaters factored into their younger years.
My first date ever was at that theater—“Jurassic Park,” followed by pepperoni-and-pineapple pizza at the Pizza Hut right around the corner (similarly departed, although the storefront endures as a clothing boutique or some-such). I’d seen the movie the day before with a friend of mine, just to make sure that it would pass muster for a date. To drive by that doomed theater and watch it wobble in punch-drunk perpetuity like some Mortal Kombat character denied the grace of a fatality…it plucks at my sense of nostalgia like a harp. Every time I pass it, I feel like I'm living in Larry McMurtry's "The Last Picture Show".
My friend Mike managed to squeeze his hand under the chain-link fence surrounding the theater and snag a small piece of the former roof’s Spanish tile for me. Okay, technically the Spanish tile has as much to do with my memories of the place as do, say, the paper towel dispenser in the bathroom or the green exit signs, but hey, I’m thankful to get a memento of the place at all. You go, Mike.
In other news, I’ll be spending some unexpected time with my friend Rich (the Jardinains addict) tomorrow night. It’ll mean pulling another all-nighter tomorrow night to stay afloat, but he’s worth it. Also, although my upstairs neighbors didn’t clear out as anticipated on November 20, they did spend all of today loading a U-Haul truck, and their kitschy patio decorations have disappeared. I can hear them goose-stepping around up there right now—hey, that’s what it sounds like—so tomorrow will probably be the blessed day o’ departure. Their dog will be gone, never to “barken” my door again.
Posted by patrick at November 22, 2004 09:16 PM
CommentsNO WAY!!! I loved that theatre!
Sad...
Posted by: James at December 1, 2004 10:45 AM
I'll never forget seeing "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" there when I was but a little bugger. And who could forget the good times watching Japanese flicks (OK, it was just one) with my good pals Patrick and Mike? Sad times, indeed...
Posted by: Kyle at December 9, 2004 01:33 AM
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