Arlene, my beautiful bride for 40 years, suggested that we go to the movies the other night and I had an instant flashback of going to the movies when I was a kid living in Brooklyn.

Saturday at the movies was an event that all we kids looked forward to. We couldn’t wait to see the next installment of the Flash Gordon movie starring Buster Crab, and we looked forward to the cartoons and of course the double feature and of course there was always a newsreel.. And the best part was it was air conditioned, which is something we didn’t have during the hot summer months in the 50’s in Brooklyn.

Mom packed a lunch consisting of hock fleish (chopped meat between two slices of challah), with lots of garlic and onion or kosher salami on challah. These sandwiches had very strong, distinct, aromas. What was really amazing was that every kid had a sandwich with an unusually strong aroma, giving the theatre a very unique and delicious flavor.

My mom would give me a quarter to pay for the movie and additional money for candy and a soda. She was happy that we went to the movies,--- a day of peace for her from my brother and I. Mom would ask my brother Herb to watch me and not to let me out of his sight,( he’s 7 years older than I.) So, Herb and I went off to the Utica Theatre on St Johns Place, called the” itch” for obvious reasons, for a day of fun and entertainment.

The first thing my brother would do was bring me to the first row and tell me not to leave the seat, and then he’d sit in the back row with Shelly Perenson and they’d hug and kiss. I know this because sometimes I’d go towards the back and watch.

There was an elderly Matron who wore a white dress, held a flashlight and watched over the children. She’d show us to our seat and quiet us down when we got too rowdy. She would help a kid that might have made in his pants and would also watch the restrooms to see that we didn’t get into mischief, and mischief we did get into.!!!

We’d take toilet paper and wet it down and then throw it up to the ceiling trying to get it to stick, knowing that when it dried up it would fall on somebody’s head. Sometimes we would splash water on each other making the sink water coming out of the faucets into sprinklers.

There were also times when everyone didn’t have enough money to go to the movies. The ones that had the money would go in and while the movie was playing would open up an exit door and let the other kids in…Oh, we were so bad.

We waited for and hoped they would have trouble with the sound track of the movie so that we could throw cups and popcorn at the screen and stamp our feet and yell. It was all part of the excitement of the day.

I remember my mother talking proudly that the dinnerware we ate on came from the movies. She received a free piece every week when she went to the movies, not a bad deal. Wish they’d do that today. Those dishes looked really pretty with the Welch’s grape jelly glasses next to them. :-)

I remember how big the boxes of candy looked and how I would buy my candy from a candy machine in the back of the movie house because it was smaller and cheaper.

What an exciting day and such a bargain. We’d stay to watch all the movies twice often leaving at 6 p.m. Sometimes Mama would come in to get us ( that was not exciting) and shlep us home. Yes, those were the days.

Elliot’s down with the flu and will share his experiences in the next issue.