Mickey
Baker has owned The
Strand – our local movie theater – since the new releases
starred Virginia
Mayo. The Strand, naturally, is an icon here. More than a few
of our
long-lasting marriages in the area began with a first date
there. Most of us
have consumed more than our share of Raisinettes and Jujubes
while watching
Duke Wayne whip the bad guys. We know every inch of The
Strand. We know where
the rips are in the used-to-be blood-red carpet, which of the
seats don’t fold
all the way down, which seats are most secluded in case it’s a
smooching date.
It was ol’ Dud, back when he was about four feet tall, who
discovered how to
combine chewing gum and the lock on the back door to provide
five-finger
discounts for friends wanting to watch Victor Mature run
around in a loincloth.
The Strand, in other words, is a vital part of our past, if
not of our lives
today.
We seem
to just go rent those
tapes and disks now and stay home and watch the newer films
when we feel like
it, and that might be because we now appreciate being able to
stop the action
for an occasional bathroom break now and then.
Attendance
dropped
dramatically when home entertainment really hit a lick. But
Mickey fought back.
He tried the free popcorn route for a while. All he charged
for was the butter.
Attendance didn’t really pick up, and the popcorn bill was …
well, appreciable
if not staggering.
Mickey
now thinks he has the
answer. He bought a disk player thingie that works on a big
screen. Then he
bought some old movies and lowered the price.
The
first night he did this
was a triple header, and we all turned out to see our old
heroes vanquish
Nazis, solve the bank robbery in Cactus Gulch, and find out
who really killed
the big-city mayor. We paid too much for popcorn, but who
cares?
The
Strand lives on, even if
there is more gray hair there than at a Percheron horse show.
Besides, when was
the last time you saw The Duke standing 15-feet tall?
----------
Pick up
“Home Country: Drama, dreams
and laughter from the American heartland” www.lpdpress.com.