THE FILMS...

Nothing real profound here...just a rambling thought.

A friend raised a question in my mind that I hadn't ever really pondered. "Why don't I enjoy films like the rest of the normal world does?"

I think that I'm as "normal" as the next guy. What is "normal" anyway, huh? I guess if any of us doesn't have something about us that is odd, then we wouldn't be "normal" at all.

I grew up in the days when there wasn't much entertainment at all. 2 television channels, no video games, Al Grover had not invented the internet yet, and on and on. Most of us are in that same boat. In fact, some of you grew up before there were 2 TV channels.

Films were pretty well "it" for outside entertainment. It was a real treat to go to the theater, or the drive-in and watch a film as a kid. As a teenager, almost every weekend contained a "movie date." Even when I didn't have a date, a film with buddies was just the normal course for the weekend.

After I got married the habit of movie-going continued. The Mrs. and me would look at just about every new film that came out at the theater. Then the younguns came along. A "movie-date" got to be more of an exception than the rule. And the more children that came along, the less the film watching was. Videotapes were just firing up about that time, but you had to buy them, and they were high. You couldn't check 'em out like you can now at BlockBuster.

(By the way, I never did tell y'all about "The Assassination of Richard Nixon." Don't waste your time. The only good part was at the end when Sean Penn gets killed...ooops! Hope I didn't give it away).

As the boys got older, we went through a financial time when something like going to see a film would have been an "extravagant expense." Family priorities just didn't allow for a trip to the theater. Then video rental places popped up, but there wasn't a whole lot that little children could look at, and we wanted to do "family stuff" with the boys.

So, to make a long story short, I think I just got out of the habit. Most of the films I have seen in the last few years (now that money is not the issue so much) have actually been pretty good. But there's almost always potty-mouth talking, and suggestive...no downright out and out sexual material. I ain't no (let me get my word book...) prude, but I just don't like to listen to foul language, or watch some dirty stuff (especially in a crowd of people).

The last film I saw was Shrek III. I would highly recommend it. But just about everything I've seen with an R on it is just "R stands for Rotten" in my book.

But all that being said, I think truthfully that I just got out of the habit. When I think about something to "do," a film doesn't even cross my mind as an option.