Classic Weekend Memories

By HARRIET BISHOP

Saturday is coming. My favorite thing to do on Saturday is to sleep in and eat a big brunch. Now when I was growing up my favorite activity was to go the Saturday Matinee at the Reseda Showhouse. We always called it a showhouse instead of theater. Sometimes I drug my baby brother with me and his boyfriend but a lot of the time I went alone. For 35 cents you could go. It was 25 cents to get in and I had 10 cents to buy two 5 cent candy bars. A Black Cow or Abbazabba or a roll of Necco wafers or if I was careful I could make a Big Hunk last for two movies. I saw Buck Rogers every week or some other cliff hanger, I saw Lassie and The Perils of Pauline. To this day I know that is why I love soap operas so much or anything that has to do with a cliff hanger. I grew up on them. I watched Tony Curtis, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Robert Stack , Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Steve McQueen and on and on and on. They were my idols. I saw and heard Rock Around the Clock with Bill Haley. I learned how to do the twist with Chubby Checker. I saw James Dean, NatalieWood, Rebel without a Cause, I saw all the movies that we are now seeing on AMC T.V. channel and Turner Classic Movies. I watched the first color movie. I saw all the musicals that our children call the classics. Kiss Me Kate,Oklahoma, Sound of Music, Call Me Madam. Anything that was important I saw on the big screen at the showhouse. All those old movies are in my comfort zone. They are my “Baby Blanket” my thumb sucking, getting to sleep and staying there comfort zone. When ever I have a bad night or I am sick, you will find me curled up in my chair, the television turned on to TCM or AMC and I am sleeping like a log. I wake up, give the screen a check and fall back to sleep. Turn the set off and I wake up. Well, there it is people. Guess you know what I will be doing this weekend. How about you? Here is a suggestion. Try watching your favorite old movie. Pop some popcorn or eat your favorite candy bar and relax for a couple of hours. Better yet, just what is your favorite Saturday activity? Remember “Only in America…can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.”