TMT: “It comes after 12, hon.”
This is the next entry in a Theatre… a Movie… and a Time, a series that was begun here. Returning to this is getting harder. Memory growing shorter, at least for those I can relate on this blog. No matter. Today marks the second day of the TCM Film Festival, 2015 edition. One of its films to be celebrated, reaching its 20th anniversary this year, and where you’ll find me sitting anxiously tonight, the subject here (and an upcoming duo post). Let’s light this candle once more, shall we?
“I don’t care about what anything was DESIGNED to do, I care about what it CAN do.”
Theatre
Movie
Time
July 1, 1995: There’s an old saying for just about everything under the sun1. Some even are meaningful, with perhaps something personal to say. Case in point:
“Cousins are the first friends you make, and they’re the only friends guaranteed to be there for the rest of your life.”
For almost the entirety of our lives, my brother and I were raised apart. Only his few first years of life were we under the same roof. Then, each of us attained “only child” status by circumstance. He with mom, me with my grandmother. In the grand central station that was ma’s house, I befriended a handful of cousins from the various marriages of my aunts. Mom’s sisters continuing their influence upon me.
All of their children younger than moi. The oldest, a girl a year apart, would become more sister than cousin to me as we were frequently paired at grandma’s house under the family childcare of the time. The irony here, my brother, as a by-product of mom and dad’s broken marriage, became more of a cousin than sibling. Though blood tells all when we argued. Still debate in my head if all of this was a good or a bad thing.
Cousin kinship lasted when numerous other attachments couldn’t over the many years. More than a few of our meetings involved movies, as parents and aunts prepped film into her gene expression, as well. So when Apollo 13, the debuting summer film of the ill-fated moon mission (something we both experienced while in the same high school), us “cousins” plotted once more — our Christmas Eve conspiracies being legendary.
With her younger sister now part of this cinema cabal, a weekend rendezvous was set for the Cerritos Stadium 10. The new multiplex closer to mis primos. Plus, it could be seen, and reached, from the 91 freeway. For us trekking across the basin, that was important. You see, she-who-must-be-obeyed was now five months into our first pregnancy. We set to deliver the newest cousin into that long line of friends for the generational fold.
The entire TMT series can be found here. If you’re interested how it’s put together, click here.
- Yes, yes. A cliché. So? ↩
It Rains... You Get Wet 
17 Responses to “TMT: “It comes after 12, hon.””
Reblogged this on Don't Dress Like Beethoven.
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Thank you for the reblog.
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It’s been many years, but I used to go to that theater now and then. It’s only a few miles from where I live.
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Really? As happens sometimes, this was the only time I ever visited this multiplex. Still notice it, though, whenever we drive by it on the 91. Thanks for that, Lee. 🙂
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I don’t know the name of the theater where I saw Apollo 13 on its opening day. I only remember it was in Galesburg, IL. I was driving to Iowa to see old friends, and spent the evening and night resting at Galesburg. I remember on the drive home, some little gas station in the middle of Nowhere, Iowa, had wooden crates of Pepsi — 16 oz glass bottles, just like when I was a kid — for sale. I bought a crate of 24, dropped it off at my sister’s house (for sharing) and I never got one bottle out of the entire case! Nephews…
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Great memory, Naomi! Wish I’d find a crate of Pepsi in glass bottles…and at least get to drink at least one! Wow. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Distinctly remember watching Apollo 13 at the flicks. Love these nostalgic and evocative pieces mate.
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That’s great, Mark. Really one of those that works best on a large theater screen. Thanks for the kind words, my friend. 🙂
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Great story once again! Have a nice weekend Michael, hope you have time to check out FC soon 🙂
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I will! Thank you so much, Ruth. 🙂
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Nice post, as always. I haven’t seen this film! I’m missing out, aren’t I?
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Oh, must rectify, if you can! If you can’t catch it on the big screen, still worth seeing at home. Check out the new restoration on Blu-ray, for sure. Thanks very much, Fernando. 🙂
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[…] mission launch sequence even now thrills this jaded moviegoer to tears as it first did long ago. Says something of how well the film still connects with its audience, even if many of them were […]
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Love these TMTs. 🙂
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Thank you very kindly, Rachel. 😀
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Wonderful piece Michael. I like the idea for TMT a lot. I never got the privilege of seeing Apollo 13 on the big screen, but boy would that have been an experience. I count it in my favorite films for sure.
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[…] only surviving sons, we weren’t raised like brothers — we were more or less brought up like cousins (since we were in two different households for a good part of our lives growing […]
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