Since we don't usually go to the movies, it was a big deal. Brad produced giant packages of Hot Tamales (for him) and Junior Mints (for me), got popcorn in a tub, and the biggest fruit punch drink I have ever seen. I seriously think that drink weighed more than the baby weighs right now!
Popcorn, Junior Mints, and fruit punch was my movie theater treat of choice when I was little. It's not a combination I have very much now (fortunately for me, I'm sure!). I lasted all of about two minutes into the pre-preview commercials (I remember way back in my day when you had to just make conversation with your movie partner before the previews started...) before I cracked open the Junior Mints package. But, as soon as I had the magical combination of all three items in succession, I instantly felt seven years old.
I know scent is supposed to be the most powerful sense in triggering memories, but I think my candy/popcorn/sugary drink combination has to be high up there for me.
I told Brad I felt like I was seven, and he laughed and said, "Seven instead of twenty-seven and pregnant?" I said, "Yeah!" The magical time-traveling properties of movie theater food.
Maybe it was the plot (which I never really followed, even though I thought there was too much action and not enough character stuff), or maybe it was the fact that once the instant sugar buzz wore off on me, it seemed to go directly to the baby, who kicked and moved and often stepped on my bladder. But whatever it was, I found myself staring down at my moving abdomen and grinning away, vastly entertained by my own body, oblivious to whatever Indy was doing onscreen. (Which is really saying something for me, and anyone who knows of my once-overpowering Harrison Ford obsession.)
It was a really entertaining evening. But since I had more than enough action-adventure wiggling around in my own body, Indy's adventures didn't really impress me like they used to.
I realized, as I zoned out on yet another probably important plot detail while staring at my stomach, that the candy and punch and popcorn had made me a little sick. Then I got some more big kicks and remembered that, much as my senses might have tricked me temporarily, I'm really not seven, or seventeen (about how old I was when I saw my first Indy movies, on tape).
Harrison got older, Indy got older, and I got older...and, although I have to say that Harry has crossed the line into not crush-suitable anymore for me, I'm glad to be twenty years older than my candy made me feel! I am twenty-seven and pregnant, and very glad to be both. Although it was fun to take a brief little trip back in time with the mystical snack food combination, and seeing a new Indiana Jones movie, I am quite happy to be back in the present day. (And the next time I go to a movie, I'm going to remember that I don't need to eat quite so much of that popcorn/Junior Mint/punch combination to get a little thrill!)
1 comment:
That was far from the Indiana Jones movie review I expected! I'm not surprised that Harrison has lost some of his appeal to you. I mean, if you did still think he was hot, I'd be a little concerned. :)
My favorite movie snack as a kid was very tame compared to your combo: Skittles. I'd eat the whole bag way too fast, until my tongue felt raw and cut up from the shells and my teeth felt fuzzy with sugar. I'd do that over and over again and it wasn't until my late teens that I realized it wasn't much fun to lacerate my tongue during a movie. These days, it's dark chocolate M&Ms. Mixed with the salty, buttery popcorn, the chocolate becomes a new, magical thing. So tasty!
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