Let's All Go to the Movies...

One of the most fun things I can remember as a child was going to the movies. The old Arcade theatre was downtown on Broadway and showed all sorts of Disney movies. I seem to remember the price for under twelve was something like fifty cents. Next door to the Arcade was the Columbia. My memory of that place was it was where grown-ups went to the movies. It eventually turned into a dual screen theater. I remember my friend Don Scillion taking Philip Anderson and I to see this new hot movie called “Star Wars” in 1977 there – Don was the first one of us to get his driver’s license. I also remember the theaters were right around the corner from Readmore Books. Half of the fun of going to the movies when I got older was going to that bookstore before the movie.

In the summer of 1977, Bruce Douglas got me a job in the concession stand at the Paducah Drive in. I worked that job through the summer of 1983 (when I got my first programmer’s job at General Electric). I loved working there. I had the best boss I ever had there – Richard Phillips. He insisted I bring my homework to do during the slow fall periods when we often only had one of us in the concession stand. I can also remember some super busy nights when there would be seven or eight of us back there – the movie Smokey and the Bandit stands out as a movie that was super busy. The wide open space was great for throwing a Frisbee before work. We also had a couple of bottle rocket wars after work around the Fourth of July – until the police came in and told us to stop. I had my first date with my wife there. I remember coming home from work in the summer of 1985 and seeing the screen in flames and wanting to cry. My mom had even gone to the first movie there (“Song of the South”) when it first opened in 1949. I have plenty of other fond memories and stories of that place that I’ll save for another time.

When Donna and I were dating, we used to go to the Twin Cinemas on Park Avenue (where Enterprise Car Rental is now). I had gone there occasionally before that. The theater regularly showed the Rocky Horror Picture Show every weekend and we would go to that and have a lot of fun throwing all the requisite items at specified points in the movie. They finally stopped showing that movie – probably because cleaning up the theater was so painful. Anyway, Donna and I saw a lot of movies there – a lot of terrible ones. I only say terrible in retrospect because I got to spend a lot of time with this beautiful girl and didn’t really notice how terrible a lot of the movies were.

Then, Cinemark opened their multiplex by the mall (in the area where Old Navy is now). That pretty much spelled the death-knell for the Arcade and Columbia and Twin Cinemas and they soon closed. I occasionally went to the Cinemark especially when Jonathan and Josh were old enough to go. We also made occasional trips to the Calvert City Drive In. I enjoyed the really good hamburgers they had there just about as much as the movies. I eventually reached the point where I rarely went to the theater. I had to get there early just to get seats I wanted. Plus it was easier a lot of times to just wait for the movie to be released to video (and going to the now defunct Blockbuster Video) or to now just watch it on Netflix.

However, when Josh moved to Madison Wisconsin, he talked me into going to several movies there. The experience there makes it more enjoyable to go there. First, they have the Coke soda machines were you can get whatever mixture soda you want. Also, you can get FREE refills. I even grab one as I exit. Also, several theaters have actual RECLINERS for all their seats. It’s a very comfortable way to watch a movie. The last time we talked about going to a movie, Josh mentioned a time and I said “We can’t go to that one, we don’t have time to get ready and get there in time for good seats”. Josh promptly got on his phone and got us RESERVED seats right where we wanted them. We didn’t have to be there until the previews were already going. I am to the point that I will go to the movies again but I’ll wait til I am in Madison.

Cinemark of Paducah, the ball’s in your court if you want me to start going there again :-)

5k the third

Jonathan and I signed up to run in the Great Pumpkin Race in downtown Paducah (put on by Rehab Associates). Jonathan was to run in the 10k and I would do the 5k again. I was too chicken being afraid I'd finish last.

Josh was running in a high school meet at Marshall County (the Marshall County Invitational).

It was a bit nippy (50 degrees), but we got warmed up and were OK. We lined up at 8 o'clock and took off. I hit the 1 mile point at 7:45 again. I didn't even try to get any water.

They didn't have the people available to announce times after that so I just tried to keep a good pace. As I got to the last stretch, I could see that my time was in the 24 minute range. I managed to finish in 24:48! I couldn't believe it. Jonathan finished in 45:05 (his goal was 50). I knew he'd get an award for his time so we hung around for that.

They started with the 5k and they got to 40-49. I was amazed to hear "2nd place, Stuart Yancy". Jonathan had to push me up there because I was in shock. When I came back, he said "Dad, quit looking so surprised". Jonathan won his age range in the 10k.

We hustled out and go to Marshall just in time to see Josh run. ..

I left my heart.... in Ballard County

Monday September 15th was the 24th anniversary of a day that set my life (happily) on a drastic change.

I was a fledging programmer at what was called Martin Marietta then (now USEC) and living in an apartment in Forest Hills. I had gone over to my buddy Jeff Lawrence's trailer (known to this area as Dr. Jeff on WKYQ). He asked if I had plans for the next evening. I said no thinking we were going to have one of our regular marathon Trivial Pursuit matches. He says "Well, you've got a date". I was aghast. "I've set you up with someone I work with at Trader's Mart" (Trader's Mart is a long defunct want-ad kind of paper). He told me I had to go because I wouldn't be allowed to hang out at his place the next night so I reluctantly agreed.

The next day, I went with my friends Keith "Corky" Johnson and Jim Hill to Massac State Park. I sat on the bank of the Ohio River looking and thinking "What kind of idiot goes out with a girl he's never seen before?".

The hour approached and I headed out to meet her at Trader's Mart in my 1983 Trans-Am. All I knew is her name was Donna Woods and she'd be in a black Olds Cutlass.

I got there and the car was there. I watched the door open with apprehension. Out stepped the most beautiful brown haired brown-eyed girl I'd ever seen. I almost couldn't speak. I finally said "I'm Stuart, do you want to see my driver's license to prove it?". She actually laughed at my bad joke.

She wanted to go to McDonalds and eat so we did. She had a quarter pounder with cheese and I had a Big Mac. I saw some guys I knew and I think they were in shock when they saw me out with this beautiful girl.

She wanted to see Grandview USA at the Paducah Drive-In. I was glad to go there since I worked there for years each summer until I started working full-time at Martin Marietta. My boss (who recently passed away) Richard Phillips was at the ticket booth. I guess he was so shocked to see with such a pretty date that he let us in free. He also told me to go to the concession stand and get free drinks and popcorn. Donna told me later how impressed she was when I brought out drinks and a large brown bag full of buttered popcorn.

The whole date cost 5.00 (including gasoline). She even shared my frugality beliefs! I was enthralled...

The night went great and she even agreed to see me again.

The next morning as I was getting ready to go to church, my phone rang. The caller introduced himself as the "Ballard County Sheriff" and he needed to talk to me about an incident last night. The girl I had gone out with was from Ballard County. My main experiences with Ballard County were to go to the "Game Preserve" (as my Uncle James called it) to camp with my family and a visit to the "Green Palace" (which was really really Green) to watch Lone Oak play in a district basketball tournament. I remember all the kids there blew duck calls the whole game. Anyway, I thought "Oh man, she didn't make it home and now I am the last one to see her and the main suspect". It turned out that they had picked up a couple of guys I know as they came off the Wickliffe bridge and they wanted me to vouch for their idenities.

For reasons I'll never understand, she kept going out with me. We've been married 22 years. She still laughs at my bad jokes. I've worked at "Martin Marietta" for almost 25 years. We drove that black Olds Cutlass til it wouldn't run any more. I've lived in Ballard County for 16 years now. I still order a Big Mac when I go to McDonalds. And I couldn't be happier....