My Instead: I met some
friends at an outdoor movie on Art Hill in St. Louis to watch "Funny
Face" starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.
My friends, Annie and
Jan, planned to go to the outdoor showing of a movie on Art Hill in St. Louis on
Friday evening. They invited me to join them via a text earlier in the day. I
was excited about joining them since I had never done anything like this
before. Going to a movie at Belleville’s Sky View Drive-In was the closest I
had ever come to an outdoor movie. The venue for this particular viewing was just too fabulous
to pass up.
Jan and Annie got there
around 6:30. I finally arrived around 8:15 due to my long day’s work schedule,
not to mention my longer drive too. The challenge of finding a parking
spot took almost as long as the trip over. Eventually I relented and paid $15
to park in the art museum’s garage. I quickly retrieved my
chair-in-a-bag from the back of my car and followed the nearest individuals
that looked like they knew where they were going.
As I emerged from the
underground, I discovered a sea of people spread across Art Hill. The movie
screen was set up at the bottom of the hill, the placid lake and fountains as
its backdrop. What a sight! I perused the populated slope filled with people
enjoying the good life until I realized that I had to find my friends amidst it
all. Annie had clued me in earlier on their approximate location. I found her
right away standing and texting me. I slowly walked up and surprised her with
my presence. We hugged. Then we engaged in conversation, as is usual with Annie and
me. Jan found her way back to us from her break and the three of us rekindled
our camaraderie that spawned earlier during the previous weekend at our friend Annette’s
pool party.
We sat back, relaxed,
and visited while waiting for the skies to darken, enjoying this simple
pleasure. Everyone surrounding us was doing the same. Now THIS was America and it was our finest hour.
When the movie “Funny Face” with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire
appeared on the screen, I thought, “They don’t make ‘em like this anymore!” The
simplicity of this Hollywood production was a perfect match to the evening’s
genre. As I watched the movie, my wandering eyes kept returning to all the ambiance that lay
before me. I was like Dorothy when she realized this wasn’t Kansas anymore. But I
was in no hurry to go back.
And then it happened as with all things...the end. I wasn't ready.
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