realto theater

emily's meditation took me to the rialto theater
first the theater was in a little one town main street
then it morphed into a theater on the boardwalk
always it was small
and then it became a theater in a busy city
with cars driving by and people milling around
in a busy neighborhood.
there was a lot of noise and frivolity going on.

finally it merged into a neighborhood
the neighborhood theater
where on Saturday afternoons herds of
kids would flock to this one theater
you would see them coming from all corners of the
neighborhood and the streets crisscrossed and intersected.

The writer in you compared it to a swarm of ants leaving the
anthill and moving rapidly to their next destination.

On this sunny afternoon the streets were filled with children four years
old and up to 13 years of age flocking to their neighborhood movie house.
the older kids would hurry the younger ones along and you could see
older siblings holding the hands of the younger ones as everyone made
a bee line for the neighborhood movie house.

once there u produced your nickle and went through the revolving doors
got on line for your popcorn and candy and soda and then proceeded
to find your seat or if you were lucky you had one of your friends
hold a seat for you way up in the front row while you bought the goodies.

on this particular day the sun shone brightly and once inside it took a few
moments for your eyes to adjust to the darkness of the theater.
you found your seat and settled in.  once in awhile the exit door opened
and a loud holler would go up from the kids in the audience as they realized
one of the neighborhood kids had let one of their own in and the kids would
 hurriedly disappear into the darkness before the usher running down the aisle
could catch them with their roaming flashlight.

we were all sitting in our seats chattering about the morning events when the
flicker of movement on the the screen would catch our attention and a hush
would fall over the crowd.   first there was the star spangle banner and then
the black and white news and then the cartoons.  this day was different though
you could smell it in the air - something more unrecognizable.  the smell of
buttered popcorn was disappearing.  your nostrils flared and you felt the tug
of a memory as it stirred in your imagination.  - what was that, you said.

oh, yes, your sense of smell recognized the pull and you breathed it in deep.
the new element to the mix of the inside of the rialto theater was fresh air.
at this moment things started to change.  under your feet instead of the
worn carpet you could feel the movment of  grass growing and your
feet inadvertently did a tap dance. The grass moved passed your ankles
and started to tickle your lower leg.where it stopped.  your seat took on  an
odd  circular shape and molded your rear end into a comfortable position.
you looked to your right and trees were  growing right before your eyes.
The foliage didn't stop increasing and your eyes followed their growth as it
slowly inched up the theater walls and then finally the tile roof  disappeared
and the sky could be seen above you.  the canopy was now a calm blue and
the clouds were cotton fluffy.  you reached up your hands to touch and your
fingertips came back with a white foam.  You touched them to your lips and felt
a taste of sweet marshmallow. .

you were pulled back to the stage of the theater where movement on the screen
was detected and you understood the movie of the day was about to begin and
that  your perception of the day's events were changing.

You held on to your little brother's hand and sneaked a look at his face.
you thought he would be scared.  but, no to your surprise he was grinning from
ear to ear a look of total adventure etched on his young features.
you concluded he didn't know what he was in for and you realized he should
 have been frightened.  He squeezed your hand and turned to look at you.
it was a look of reassurance and pure joy.  come with me he said and enjoy the ride.
the words weren't spoken they just formed in your mind.

the stage opened before you and you saw that it was any street you wanted to go down.
there were avenues you had visited before.  and there were streets you had never been
on.  you saw them all with your mind's eye.  you looked around the movie theater
with everyone else in it.  you saw children of the world just like yourself settling in
getting ready to enjoy the main feature.  you looked again at your little brother and
saw that he was relaxed,confident and happy.  you squeezed his hand and he
squeezed your hand back twice,  that was your cue that he acknowledged your
presence and he was secure in your being there with him.  it was then that you
shifted your shoulders adjusted your back to the contour of the seat and sat back
deep in your seat,. breathed in the fresh air and let the ride begin.