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“The Movie Attendant”
She was at
the bottom of twenty
as she gave
the pump handle
to the Hot
melted butter
3-Big pushes
“I said extra”
spouted the
Jabba the Hutt
look-a-like
counting
her every pump
as if she was doing
CPR on his chest
which was a strong
possibility
if he finished
that tub of popcorn,
she pushed the bucket
towards him
if you like
she says
I could crush
a couple of aspirins
and sprinkle them
over the butter
he wasn’t amused
with her comment
as he waddled off
leaving a trail
of crushed popcorn
behind him
“Thanks for that”
she hollers after him
now I’ll know
where to send
the EMT’s.
She had an
athletic look
a slim build
that brought that
attendant uniform
to life
she grew use to
all the looks she got
from the guys
most were innocent
but heaven help
the guy
that thinks he can
hit her with a
loaded remark
and not expect
any return fire.
She was making
her hourly check
on the ladies bathroom
when she came a pond
a young teen girl
checking
and then rechecking
her look in the mirror
she had seen her
with a young man
earlier in the lobby
1st date jitters
she’s guessing
she walks up
and stands next to her
looks at herself
in the mirror
then turns to
the young girl
“I just have to say it”
“You look so beautiful”
“In that outfit”
the young girl
caught by surprise
looks into her eyes
through the mirror
her head
still turned down
as she spoke
“You really think so?”
“Oh, yes I do”
“Did you put”
“This outfit”
“Together?”
the girl turns
from the mirror
points at her pink
Vans High Tops
and gleefully says
“I Did!”
“But I started with”
“The shoes”
“Funny huh”
“Starting from the”
“Bottom up”
lots of energy
in her voice
as she describes
her look
then spins around
to show her
“Well you do look Hot”
“But I better get”
“Back to work”
she tells her
as she heads back out
in to the lobby
seconds later she sees
the young teen
coming out of
the bathroom
head held high
confidence
sparkling all around her
her date
jumps to his feet
takes her hand
and guides her into
theater number three.
She sees the line
at the ticket window
is backing up
and heads over
to help out
she opens up
another window
as a very old couple
start walking up
very slowly
the lady with a cane
the man with a walker,
behind them
a middle aged man
unhappy with their
super slow progress
quips
“It’s only a two hour movie”
“I’d like to see some of it”
the old couple
try and pick up speed
but are just physically
unable to do so
she can see
the troubled look
in their eyes
as they ask for
two tickets
with the senior discount,
the middle-aged man
barks “To bad there is no”
“Crypt keeper’s discount”
“You both would get in free”
“Hey Buddy” she says
standing up
to her full height
“One more comment”
“Out of you”
“And I’m coming out”
“Of this box”
“And I’m going to show you”
“How I can make this”
“Red cone disappear”
pointing to her flashlight
with the attached red cone
then pointing the cone at him
he seemed to shrink down
as he took a step back
she went back to
helping the old couple
she watched as the
woman took out an
old style change purse
“How much did you say?”
“Sweetie”
$13.50 please
she pulled out
all the bills she had
and then
started counting change
“That was close bob”
“We just made it dear”
“But no popcorn”
“This time around dear”
she was touched
as she slide the two tickets
towards the lady
her husband struggling
to get his walker moving
she opens the door
to the booth
calls another one of
the attendants over
a young man trots
over to her
she whispers to him
hands him an envelope
and then turns around
to help the middle aged man
she was hoping
would have just disappeared
as it is
she is just an inch away
from introducing him
to her flashlight
“Ok sir”
“What can I do for you?”
“Two tickets to number five”
as he slides her
his black no limit
American Express card
a snooty look
just dripping off his face
she looks over at
his girlfriend
a young looking 20-something
hanging on his arm
everything about him
spoke of money
not that it spoke much
to her
“Ok sir, here are your tickets”
“And I made sure to apply”
“Your senior discount”
“What, I didn’t ask for”
“Any senior discount”
he steams
“Oh no sir”
“You didn’t have to”
“Anyone over 63”
“Gets it automatically”
he starts turning red
as the young lady
looks over at him confused
“Oh and I would have given”
“Your daughter the child rate”
“But she is obviously over 14”
“But I did give her”
“The high school discount”
the man grabs his tickets
and starts to storm off
“Wait, don’t forget your”
“Black card”
and in a baby voice says
“You must be so special”
with the young lady
following behind him
trying to catch up
she says
“She thinks I’m still in”
“High School”
“I’m going to still look HOT”
“When I’m 30”
unknowingly
taking her remark as a compliment.
Another attendant takes her spot
at the window
she exits the booth
just in time to see
the old couple get to the
doors of their theater
where the young man
she had talked to
is waiting for them
she watches as he asks
to see their tickets
he looks carefully
at their ticket stubs
and even though she is
across the lobby
she can both read and see
the excitement on their faces
as the young man tells them
they have won two
complementary tickets
good at any time
and for any movie
plus a free large popcorn
with two drinks right now
the old man starts to aim
his walker towards the snack bar
she makes a face at the young man
who quickly tells the couple
he’ll retrieve the popcorn
and the drinks
and bring them to them,
looking like a couple of kids
as they make their way
into the movie
the young man walks by her
“Large popcorn, no butter or salt”
“And two large Tabs”
“Do we even have Tabs?”
“Just give them two diet Cokes”
“You owe me” he tells her
“If that cute red head comes in”
“You have to pretend”
“I’m the manager”
“You got it Boss”
she says
as she heads
to the snack bar
for a break
grabs a small
diet coke
and popcorn
and takes a seat
in the back row
of theater #1
not really watching
the movie
she pulls out
a small note pad
from her back pocket
she writes down
a few ideas
for a short film
she’s been working on
she understands
how the dreams
and secret lives
in a good movie
can make you
feel like you’re
a part of it
she has seen
how special
a movie can be
during a first date
or even after
fifty years of marriage
when a new
or old couple
share it together
or that over weight
out of shape
37-year old nerd
that gets to
stand on the bridge
of a star ship
for a couple of hours
each week
pretending to be
the captain,
so she keeps
her notes
and writes her lines
and one day
maybe one day
if she’s lucky
and is able
to get her
visions of fantasy
and adventure
on to just
the right desk
in Hollywood
then it might
just be
her name
attached to the
credits
rolling along
at the end
of one of
her dreams
the next time
your at
the movies…
Tom Allen…10-20-2017…
She was at
the bottom of twenty
as she gave
the pump handle
to the Hot
melted butter
3-Big pushes
“I said extra”
spouted the
Jabba the Hutt
look-a-like
counting
her every pump
as if she was doing
CPR on his chest
which was a strong
possibility
if he finished
that tub of popcorn,
she pushed the bucket
towards him
if you like
she says
I could crush
a couple of aspirins
and sprinkle them
over the butter
he wasn’t amused
with her comment
as he waddled off
leaving a trail
of crushed popcorn
behind him
“Thanks for that”
she hollers after him
now I’ll know
where to send
the EMT’s.
She had an
athletic look
a slim build
that brought that
attendant uniform
to life
she grew use to
all the looks she got
from the guys
most were innocent
but heaven help
the guy
that thinks he can
hit her with a
loaded remark
and not expect
any return fire.
She was making
her hourly check
on the ladies bathroom
when she came a pond
a young teen girl
checking
and then rechecking
her look in the mirror
she had seen her
with a young man
earlier in the lobby
1st date jitters
she’s guessing
she walks up
and stands next to her
looks at herself
in the mirror
then turns to
the young girl
“I just have to say it”
“You look so beautiful”
“In that outfit”
the young girl
caught by surprise
looks into her eyes
through the mirror
her head
still turned down
as she spoke
“You really think so?”
“Oh, yes I do”
“Did you put”
“This outfit”
“Together?”
the girl turns
from the mirror
points at her pink
Vans High Tops
and gleefully says
“I Did!”
“But I started with”
“The shoes”
“Funny huh”
“Starting from the”
“Bottom up”
lots of energy
in her voice
as she describes
her look
then spins around
to show her
“Well you do look Hot”
“But I better get”
“Back to work”
she tells her
as she heads back out
in to the lobby
seconds later she sees
the young teen
coming out of
the bathroom
head held high
confidence
sparkling all around her
her date
jumps to his feet
takes her hand
and guides her into
theater number three.
She sees the line
at the ticket window
is backing up
and heads over
to help out
she opens up
another window
as a very old couple
start walking up
very slowly
the lady with a cane
the man with a walker,
behind them
a middle aged man
unhappy with their
super slow progress
quips
“It’s only a two hour movie”
“I’d like to see some of it”
the old couple
try and pick up speed
but are just physically
unable to do so
she can see
the troubled look
in their eyes
as they ask for
two tickets
with the senior discount,
the middle-aged man
barks “To bad there is no”
“Crypt keeper’s discount”
“You both would get in free”
“Hey Buddy” she says
standing up
to her full height
“One more comment”
“Out of you”
“And I’m coming out”
“Of this box”
“And I’m going to show you”
“How I can make this”
“Red cone disappear”
pointing to her flashlight
with the attached red cone
then pointing the cone at him
he seemed to shrink down
as he took a step back
she went back to
helping the old couple
she watched as the
woman took out an
old style change purse
“How much did you say?”
“Sweetie”
$13.50 please
she pulled out
all the bills she had
and then
started counting change
“That was close bob”
“We just made it dear”
“But no popcorn”
“This time around dear”
she was touched
as she slide the two tickets
towards the lady
her husband struggling
to get his walker moving
she opens the door
to the booth
calls another one of
the attendants over
a young man trots
over to her
she whispers to him
hands him an envelope
and then turns around
to help the middle aged man
she was hoping
would have just disappeared
as it is
she is just an inch away
from introducing him
to her flashlight
“Ok sir”
“What can I do for you?”
“Two tickets to number five”
as he slides her
his black no limit
American Express card
a snooty look
just dripping off his face
she looks over at
his girlfriend
a young looking 20-something
hanging on his arm
everything about him
spoke of money
not that it spoke much
to her
“Ok sir, here are your tickets”
“And I made sure to apply”
“Your senior discount”
“What, I didn’t ask for”
“Any senior discount”
he steams
“Oh no sir”
“You didn’t have to”
“Anyone over 63”
“Gets it automatically”
he starts turning red
as the young lady
looks over at him confused
“Oh and I would have given”
“Your daughter the child rate”
“But she is obviously over 14”
“But I did give her”
“The high school discount”
the man grabs his tickets
and starts to storm off
“Wait, don’t forget your”
“Black card”
and in a baby voice says
“You must be so special”
with the young lady
following behind him
trying to catch up
she says
“She thinks I’m still in”
“High School”
“I’m going to still look HOT”
“When I’m 30”
unknowingly
taking her remark as a compliment.
Another attendant takes her spot
at the window
she exits the booth
just in time to see
the old couple get to the
doors of their theater
where the young man
she had talked to
is waiting for them
she watches as he asks
to see their tickets
he looks carefully
at their ticket stubs
and even though she is
across the lobby
she can both read and see
the excitement on their faces
as the young man tells them
they have won two
complementary tickets
good at any time
and for any movie
plus a free large popcorn
with two drinks right now
the old man starts to aim
his walker towards the snack bar
she makes a face at the young man
who quickly tells the couple
he’ll retrieve the popcorn
and the drinks
and bring them to them,
looking like a couple of kids
as they make their way
into the movie
the young man walks by her
“Large popcorn, no butter or salt”
“And two large Tabs”
“Do we even have Tabs?”
“Just give them two diet Cokes”
“You owe me” he tells her
“If that cute red head comes in”
“You have to pretend”
“I’m the manager”
“You got it Boss”
she says
as she heads
to the snack bar
for a break
grabs a small
diet coke
and popcorn
and takes a seat
in the back row
of theater #1
not really watching
the movie
she pulls out
a small note pad
from her back pocket
she writes down
a few ideas
for a short film
she’s been working on
she understands
how the dreams
and secret lives
in a good movie
can make you
feel like you’re
a part of it
she has seen
how special
a movie can be
during a first date
or even after
fifty years of marriage
when a new
or old couple
share it together
or that over weight
out of shape
37-year old nerd
that gets to
stand on the bridge
of a star ship
for a couple of hours
each week
pretending to be
the captain,
so she keeps
her notes
and writes her lines
and one day
maybe one day
if she’s lucky
and is able
to get her
visions of fantasy
and adventure
on to just
the right desk
in Hollywood
then it might
just be
her name
attached to the
credits
rolling along
at the end
of one of
her dreams
the next time
your at
the movies…
Tom Allen…10-20-2017…