Sunday, September 16, 2012

How Movies Shaped My Youth

     
      I grew up in a large two-story house. Off the kitchen was a small room which I used as a playhouse. It was actually the back entrance to the house. It was only about four feet square, but it was totally glassed in. There, alone, I let my imagination soar. I had a wild imagination!
      Growing up, my Saturdays were always spent in the movie theater downtown. For twenty-five cents you got to see two movies. There was the feature movie and then a western. You didn't even have to leave when the movies were over. You could sit through them a second time. There, in the darkness, I began my fantasy life that I would play out in my small corner room of my house.
      On clear days it became a trolley car and I was the conductor. I had an old wind up phonograph player and I would pretend the handle was the pump that the conductor used to steer the trolley. I would let passengers on and off and carry on conversations with my imaginary people.
      More than once my mother would call out from the kitchen, “Did you say something, Audrey?”
      “No.” I'd quickly yell back. I didn't want her to come and check on me. She would have thought it was silly and I didn't want any intrusion into my private world.
      I loved rainy days. As the wind pelted drops against the windows, I stood at the helm of my ship crashing through twenty foot waves. It was up to me to get through the storm safely.
      “Don't worry, men,” I'd call out bravely. “I'll see us to safety.”
      Sometimes I'd line up my tin soldiers on the window ledge and have my own Charge of the Light Brigade.
      Every time I went to the movies I came home and played the part of the hero. I was Tarzan flying through the trees, Mr. Christian battling the evil Captain Bligh. I was Kid Galahad, a boxer who won against all odds.
      Only a four foot square room off the kitchen? Nonsense, it was my flying carpet to a world I only saw in the movies.
      What kind of play was this for a girl? What about dolls and feminine things? Phooey. From the time I saw my first movie I was convinced boys had all the fun. I wanted to be the swash-buckling, sword-wielding hero, not the damsel in distress.
      Well, you get the idea. I was less than thrilled at being a girl. I think my father unknowingly helped. He had wanted a son and, although he loved me, he kept bringing home all these wondrous boy toys.
      I mean, if you're handed a toy rifle, why not be a cowboy? I remember I'd sneak a shot glass out of the kitchen, fill it with Coke, then down it after I'd shot the bad guy. All movie cowboys had their shot of whiskey after a fight Could I do less? I had to be true to my hero.
      The toy trucks and cars Dad brought home were used to transport dirt and build an outdoor city. I built roads way in the back of the garden so my cars could travel. I had a railroad track and trains that hauled stuff around. Actually, I think all that imagining eventually made me a better, more interesting woman.
      When did I realize I liked being a female? My first kiss convinced me. I eventually met my future husband and happily raised three wonderful children.
      All this happened before cell phones, twittering and Face Book took over. My kids learned how to amuse themselves. I also think that made them more interesting adults.
    
     

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