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MY DAD & THE MOVIES Felix Vasquez Jr.
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I like to think this was his way of keeping our spirits up in times where we were just at our wits ends finding a way to keep alive, but I also think a part of him just wanted to savor his two boys in spite of working so hard. I can still vividly recall him coming home from work dead tired one evening at my grandmother's house to pick my brother and I up to see "The Abyss" where we went to the movies to gaze in amazement at Cameron's aquatic gem. The sight of the characters touching the aqua representation of a humanoid still lingers in my mind. Much our best experiences were during the treks to the movies. My dad took my brother and I to see our first (and probably last) ever 3D movie which was "Freddy's Dead," a fun time had by all of us ending with a trip to the arcade, and whether it rained, snowed, was summer, or the fall, whenever there was a trip to the theaters in the cards, we arrived with bells on. I can remember the snowy Christmas night where my dad took me and my brother after work to see "King Ralph" only to sit in on the final hour of "Home Alone" after begging him to see it while trudging through the snow in a taxi. We'd already seen it five times before that, and my dad seemed anxious to see "King Ralph" since he was a huge fan of John Goodman, but in spite of his need, he allowed us to see "Home Alone" for the sixth time as we sat in the taxi driving through the snow deciding what to watch. And there's also our summer afternoon with our cousins to see the much anticipated "Honey I Shrunk the Kids." We stood on line for what felt like two or three hours in a massive crowd just to see another Rick Moranis installment. That's another day I'll remember as my dad and my uncle stood in line with me, my brother, and my cousins to see what we thought would be an utter masterpiece. In spite of not enjoying it much, we found ourselves loving it more than my dad and uncle did. The Parkchester theater in New York was so beautiful before it became a multiplex as it looked much more like an Egyptian theater with black carpeting, different floors, balconies, and a larger screen with a much more audible sound system. Meanwhile what made the place so incredible was the huge concession stand filled with unlimited goodies my dad always loved to indulge us in (only if he could afford it) while he also let us play the arcade games. There were only four arcade booths at the time and they were always cut off from the rest of the theater like an exclusive corner, separated by the rope and we had about an hour to kill before the movie. That's when my brother and I learned to play that famous game with the large ball being guided through a maze and along cliffs. I can still fondly recall marveling at the tracking ball that controlled this silver metallic ball and having a blast doing it. One of my favorite films of the last ten years was "In America," because while it was most definitely a far-fetched utterly Capra-esque family drama, one of the more interesting and realistic moments involve the poverty-stricken family losing their electricity and deciding to hide out in the movie theaters for a few hours to commune with other movie fans to watch Spielberg's fantasy opus about an alien and his human best friend. Because for many poor people, back in the time before DVD's, and home entertainment systems, the movie theaters were where every man and woman no matter how rich and poor could sit down and watch something incredible, and forget life for a few hours. And for my dad it was a time for him to forget his job, his bills, the rat problems, our terrible drug infested building and just spend a day with his two boys and live through us and with us. And that's one of
the main reasons why movies continue holding a near and dear place
in my heart, and why movies will always be something special to me
no matter how many remakes, reboots, or sequels Hollywood churns out
for the mass audience. Deep down I'm still just that little boy with
his little brother and his workaday hero experiencing something
together only we could truly appreciate, even if we were sharing a
room with dozens of people. << My Dad & The Movies Part One
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