It’s our Memory Stroll Monday and a time for a bit of food nostalgia, so pull up an armchair. Those of a “certain age,” will recall buying a box of Crackerjacks or Jujubes and settling in for a thrilling Saturday afternoon at the movies.
What a bargain we got at the old Fairlawn Theater, about a six block walk from my house. A fifteen-cent ticket and a nickel box of candy bought us hours of immense pleasure.
The show often started with a newsreel of Harry Truman signing a proclamation or fighter planes shooting at each other (this is how we got battlefront new before the advent of television.) That was follow by a Looney Toon, ending with a pig stammering, “That’s all, folks.”
Following that, was the next chapter of some cliffhanging serial from the previous week; a short subject often showing the antics of the Three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy: and, of course, Previews of Coming Attractions.
All that, before the main attraction, usually a Western featuring Tom Mix, Gene Autry or Roy Rogers. The film ended predictably and was always uplifting and character building. The hero drank sarsaparilla and always got the girl; the bad guys lost and were hauled off by the sheriff. It was pure idealism and we wallowed in it.
The highlight was when the cowboy kissed the girl. Our hearts fluttered.
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