Sit Down and Read This NOW!

Got a recruit from the Legion of Super Sitters to watch Dan-El on Saturday and took Jak-El to see "Ice Age II."

It's not a bad movie. Not as good as the first, but interesting to see how the computer animation has improved. And, Ray Romano was born to play a mammoth.

Of course, there's nothing that enhances the cinema experience more than having to repeatedly hiss to a three-year-old "Sit down. NOW. Do you want to leave? Sit down. I mean it. SIT DOWN NOW or we'll leave."

Of course, the child knows this is a hollow threat. After we've paid $21.50 for movie tickets and $13 for snacks, there's no way in hell we're leaving unless the theater is on fire. And then, we'll go only if the screen has melted.

The afternoon made me think about my dad, who probably wouldn't have minded kids chattering and running around during a movie. It would have just added to his entertainment value.

I only remember going to the movies twice with my parents when I was a kid. Once was to a drive-in to see "The Million Dollar Duck." (We had to leave early because the sight of a gigantic duck scared the crap out of me and I wouldn't stop crying.) The other time was to "Bedknobs and Broomsticks." I think then I was old enough to behave.

But if I didn't, my dad was probably culpable. He was always fond of trying to make me crack up laughing in church, because (a) he was bored and (b) it would annoy my mom. Many a giggle fit was started by my dad singing made up words to hymns.

I know if he were still shuffling along this mortal coil, he'd be a regular reader of this blog, simply because I wrote it. He was always a faithful reader of everything I wrote. My first job out of college was reporting for a small town weekly paper, and dad would read each issue cover to cover. Even the police log, which typically featured entries like:

10 a.m. Barking dog reported on Kennedy Lane.

2:15 p.m. Bicycle reported stolen on Carter Street.

2:32 p.m. Bicycle found on Carter Street. Was borrowed by brother of owner.

3:12 p.m. Two barking dogs reported on Kennedy Lane.

Hey, I said it was a small town. The place had one murder in the last 50 years, which "officially" was unsolved. Unofficially, everyone in town knew who had done it, and why and how it had been covered up.

Anyway, I'm sure somewhere in the great beyond, my dad is reading this. They probably have very fast Internet connections there, with no pop-up ads or spam. Unless you like pop-up ads and spam. Then there's spam as far as the eye can see.

Spam, spam, spam.

Final thought for the day: Diet Coke and popcorn is a damn fine meal.

Happy Monday.