Or the $1.10 Movie?
Average theatre
prices in Canada – $15.00 – seniors $14.00 – children $13.00
So if you and your spouse and two young teens go to the movies it will
cost you $56.00 plus any applicable taxes and the cost of refreshments. Now
that’s reasonable. Going out for some entertainment keeps the family sane,
avoids the mental and physical problems associated with being house-bound, keeps
those in the theatre employed and contributes to a healthy economy.
There is a more important lingering reward. You will have an
opportunity to ask everyone in your party what they liked, how they saw or now understood
particular characters, or what they took away from the movie – joy, fear, hate,
love. Those where questions my parents asked my brothers and I when we went to
see things such as “Old Yeller”, “Darby O’Gill and the Little People,” “Shane”
or “The Alamo” (1960).
Just think of that; a family conversation! What happened to them
anyway?
You’ll notice up there I mentioned “younger teens”? That’s because in
much of the world older teens don’t go anywhere with their parents. (“OOOH, how
gross”). Perhaps much of that is due to parents not reading to their children
when they are young and with them when they are older.
Yes, WITH them not TO them.
Which brings us to reading.
Take a look in your local book store
or on Amazon books and you’ll find a Stephen King paperback for around $16.00
(USD) or a Kindle for $11.00 (USD). Michael Connolly hardcover, $29.00 (USD) or
Kindle, $15.00 (USD) . William W.
Johnston, $9.00 and $5.00.
So for as little as $5.00 or as much
as $30.00 (still less than $56.00 and you got the popcorn out of the cupboard) you
can have everyone reading the same story and then talking – yes, actually conversing
– about a shared experience.
And in addition, lately at least, you’ve
been stuck inside anyway. With the on-line or Amazon access to these stories –
and unlike the theatre version – you didn’t have to wear a face mask.
https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B004V9WZVI
