Courageous

The word courageous has many meanings behind it.

Last month, in our memoir class, Mary gave us a sheet with the Poli and Majestic Theatres and asked us to write about something that intrigues us of the picture.

There is a sign showing Captains Courageous on the Marquis of the Poli and Majestic Theatre that is boldly above the theatre.
This theatre resembles the Radio City Music Hall which has their shows listed on the marquis . I remember when I went to the Radio City Music Hall to see the Christmas shows and the sign of the theatre ran up and down the building with red and blue lights. One particular showing of a Christmas spectacular was interesting that we went to .
I was 12 or 13 at the time and our family saw the Rockettes in their performance before a movie was to be shown. I was so fascinated with the performance. I asked Mom and Dad, "Can we stay for another showing of the Rockettes and their ensemble." Mom replied, "Yes, Scott, this is a great idea." We sat through this performance and enjoyed it thoroughly. We heard the music coming from the orchestra in the pit that rose up and down during their times of playing their pieces. Then we left the theater.
Nowadays, they only have the performance of the Rockettes and team in a fuller production. But it was great back in the 1980's to get both the show and the movie for the same price. I found that out when I went to a show with my Sunday school class one Friday night. The dancing was still spetacular but it would have been nice to see an old classic afterwards on the silver screen.

When I look at the building of the Majestic and Poli, it looks like the Grand Central station with its ornate architecture. In the picture, there are some windows that are open and some people are in front of the theatre. Probably the security guards or some shoppers that are awaiting the return of the bus. The scene of the empty sidewalk beckons for viewers to come to see the movie.

When I was an adult, I had the opportunity to have a tour through the Majestic and Poli theatres. They had high vaulted ceilings and chairs that were decorated in royal reds. There were viewing boxes along the sides. The theatre had a lot of damage to it but it brought to mind how New York City saved the Grand Central Station from its demise. Now if only, Bridgeport could get some life back around this majestic theatre building before it gets knocked down. It could be a great central part of life and build many memories for kids and families as my time at Radio City Music did one Christmas a long time ago.

Yet, things change and they never remain the same. Exactly the way it is with the shows one sees. No matter what movie one goes to, there is always the next one to be viewed.

This summer, I went to a movie with my church friends to see the movie , Courageous. I looked forward to it for quite a while. It was well done with amateur talent but directed so that the viewer could identify with the characters and setting.
The movie dealt with officers at a police academy and challenges that they faced in their families and on the job. There was humor in some spots of the movie. As I learned throughout the movie, it is okay to laugh during key points of our lives for some very funny things come up as one goes about living ones life.
Afterwards, we gathered around our round white tables in our gathering hall at church and ate bowls of icecream with the scrumptuous toppings of strawberries, sprinkles, nuts and and syrup. A great way to end a very good evening with friends on the opening night of this independent movie in the second week of September. This was the last movie of the summer for me of which I got to see about 4 other good movies with my friend Nanci and it can always be a good time for a laugh as one whispers how a particular scene affects oneself. Especially when Nanci burst out laughing of how the character said, "my mom is going to kick me out" which resonated with her somehow.



Last night when I went to the exhibition at the Read's Art gallery for their open house, I saw a sheet of words that were added in different colors. I asked the artist, "how did your exhibit come about?" She said, "the exhibit came about by my including the word, evolving, on the four sheets of paper hung to the wall and I included some other words and let others add a word to the list." So I grabbed a green magic marker and wrote in smaller print the word, "Courageous" at the bottom of the 7 lines of text that were above it. Only realizing that it is the same word of a feature film by Spencer Tracy and Barrymore.
Today, the signs for movies are not on billboards outside the theatre but are inside the theatre as posters that line the walls as one rides the escalator up and down for the showings.

So indeed, life is a journey that requires one to be courageous indeed. One has to be the captain of his ship to make every moment of life count. It is great to have these visual reminders of massive architecture to show what can occur.