I’ve spent a good part of the day swinging on my patio overlooking the ocean, reading ‘Indigenous Continent,’ and writing about the summer coming to an end. I also read my post from 2016 about growing up in Golfview Woods. While I was back in Ohio this summer my dad and I went to the Grandview Hop, a pleasant street fair held on Grandview Avenue a few times during the summer. While there we ran into my old neighbor Mr. Hanley (there are a few Hanleys) and was very surprised as he had come across my Golfview blog post. That was only the second time I had heard of someone I knew reading this blog and also knowing who the author is.
I decided to re-read that post and in it had mentioned I would write a later post about Cinemark Carriage Place Movies Twelve. Well, after eight years I’m reminded and thought this beautiful evening on the porch would be the perfect time.
It is good timing as well as I’m very sad to learn that it has permanently closed per Google Maps.
The building is still there and the “no soliciting” signs warn everyone not to congregate out front. Those signs are there because it became a huge gathering spot for teenagers back in 1994 when I was in high school. It made me wonder if subsequent teenagers continued to try to gather there long after I had completed school or if the signs had really worked. I wondered when the movies shut down but suspect COVID, instead of throngs of teenagers congregating without buying tickets was the culprit. Now those signs are a warning to a mostly empty parking lot, another deserted strip mall replaced by online shopping and video streaming services. A warning for another time which should be replaced with a welcome message instead of a warning to nobody.
In my Golfview post, I spoke about our neighborhood wanderings being all but abandoned the minute someone in our friend circle got their driver’s license. With a vehicle our adventures were no longer limited to where our legs or bicycles would take us. One of our favorite spots were the “dollar theater” which we called this cinema. Out of the blue is became the hangout spot for countless teens from many different schools. I remember how exciting it all was driving by in Brendan’s Oldsmobile or in Jonathan’s Camaro. We’d roll down the windows and blast Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Membrane” or perhaps Metallica’s Four Horsemen or Jump in the Fire hoping to attract attention. We never saw movies, but instead were there for the scene and to look at the girls as we were rarely brave enough to speak with them. It did occur from time to time and even resulted in a date for me and my friend to homecoming one year. My friend Jonathan had made the move which resulted in a short dating span and her friend had agreed to go with me to homecoming.
I believe her name was Jenna but I can’t recall. She was a year older and was happy to go with me although not impressed enough with me to actually start dating. I however was extremely impressed with her plan to move to Flagstaff, Arizona. It was more of a wish than a plan but I was impressed none-the-less. I smile thinking about that now as I’ve lived in many countries and speak a few languages. I wonder if she ever made it to Flagstaff but I highly doubt it. If she did I wouldn’t want to be in her position as they are looking at over 110 degree temperatures as the new normal during the summer months. Not to be cruel but I also imagine she’s gained a LOT of weight and is a Trump supporter, angry at everyone and voting for a party whose policies will encourage even higher temperatures for her in the future. Looking back I had a lot of luck in girls turning me down. I’m certain my life would have been a lot less exciting if they didn’t.
One memory I have is of a tall, dark haired kid who just hung out at first but then started doing magic tricks which caught people’s attention. A few months later he had gotten a job at a magic store and was wearing the uniform and doing even more impressive tricks for everyone. I wish I could remember what the name of that store was although I’m sure it is out of business by now.
Anything there is a large gathering of teenagers there is an element of danger as fights did happen. One group would call another names and a fight might break out. I was extremely afraid of this and avoided trouble at all costs. I remember one evening I was with a classmate in the parking lot and a group of kids called us some bad names. I just apologized, humbled myself and they drove off seeing that we didn’t want to fight. My friend was furious with me saying I had just made ourselves look like “pussies.” I responded that there were only two of us, a whole car full of them and we have nobody to impress as we’re alone, far a parking lot away from the crowds. He got my point and we never spoke of it again.
Another time however, the danger came closer. We were a group at the fast food place (McDonalds or Taco Bell?) across the parking lot when a rough group of guys started to harass us. It was led by a stout fat kid who most likely had a terrible home life. We were a mix of Bishop Ready and Hillard kids and fortunately one of the tougher Hillard kids my friends new happened to show up. He came to our defense and he and the stout kid started talking trash sometimes nose to nose but often with the taller Hillard kid backing up as the stout kid kept advancing. The Hillard kid would extend his arm and fist speaking about the long “reach” while the stout kid kept coming forward. After about five minutes of this the stout kid and his friends pulled out some kid of weapon from their car and the Hillard kid jumped in his car and peeled out of there.
This meant we were now alone with a furious fat kid and his friends that were hell bent on beating us up for no reason. We asked the fast food staff to call the police which they did not. It was that day I learned you can never depend on fast food employees to help save the lives of scared teenagers. Well, we stayed in that restaurant until the mean kids eventually left. I imagine that stout/fat kid is now in prison, dead or living a very pitiful life.
There is one other story where we came even closer to a fight as some kids threw an egg at me which hit me in the side of the face. I won’t write what happened next but it got serious very quickly although that is a story over beers for old friends only.
Speaking of fighting, at 46 and being an actual black belt I’ve learned that it is always best to walk away. This is what they teach in karate but also the advice of MMA fighters and Navy Seals. I was a wrestler back then but didn’t know how to throw a punch nor block so was still afraid of fighting. I’m less afraid now with much more confidence but also wiser and know that walking away (unless for self defense or defense of those with you) is always the right decision.
And with that, those are my memories of “The Dollar Theater.” It was a mix of teenage excitement, girls along with an element of danger. If it were still open I’d love to catch a movie, especially for one dollar but time changes everything and eventually the Cinemark Carriage Place will be gone completely with perhaps only this blog post serving as a memorial to times gone by.
I do wonder what happened to many of those girls hanging out that I would have loved to date. If I knew any of their full names it would be fun to look them up on Facebook. I’m at the age now where a current picture garners a wide range from “not bad” to “time has not been kind” with a very rare “wow!”
Anyway, as I look over the Pacific ocean writing this post I miss the excitement of the dollar theater. My life has turned out very well but at 46 the excitement of a night out with friends scoping groups of single girls is for a time gone by and the magic of youth gone. Instead of “the dollar theater” I have recently gone out drinking in Paris, to a huge fiesta in Spain, to various bars in Tokyo but none of those experiences bring back the excitement of being a teenager and going to the dollar theater with good friends.
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