The Shallow End of the Pool

I love the movies. And I'd love to go to the movies more often. Fahrenheit 9/11 opened this past weekend, and I'd love to see it. There's one problem, however...

I live in the middle of nowhere.

Actually, I don't really. I live in New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the country. Yup, they're packed in like sardines here. And they've got tons of movie theatres here to accommodate all those people.

Except I live in SOUTH Jersey, in tourist country. For a couple of months out of the year, there's millions of people here. The rest of the year...Nothing. And we've got the movie theatres to prove it.

Ask me how far I have to drive to get to the nearest theatre. Go ahead, ask.

I'm glad you asked me that. The answer is about 7 minutes. Now, ask me how far I have to drive to get to the nearest theatre that I'm willing to give my money to, the one that's actually operating in the 21st century. 50 minutes. That's right, whenever I want to go the movies I have to drive almost an hour.

OK, technically I don't HAVE to. Like I said, there is a theatre 7 minutes from me. But I care too much about the movie-going experience to go there. Call me crazy, but if I'm paying cash money to go to the theatre, don't I deserve to both see and hear the entire film, as well as being treated like a human being by the automatons that are working there?

I'll tell you tomorrow about the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back: why I no longer support my local theatre, which will leave me with a 50-minute drive to see Spider-Man 2 this Wednesday.