the starring act

 

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i went to the movie theater twice this weekend. twice! the theater on main street where i went on  my very first date. the one that used to have a line out the door every weekend. it's now been reduced to showing older, $1 movies. which makes it even better, though it's attracted quite a following of tweenage loiters, and you shouldn't go to any 9:35 p.m. screenings lest you fear for your life a little bit.

for me, one of the greatest feelings in life has to be those five minutes when leaving the movie theater. stepping into the dark parking lot after being in a room full of strangers for two hours. when you're still in that half-dream state and everything is glowing. where, for a little bit, it seems that anything at all is possible.

that you can run away from the love of your life and turn to find him standing in the rain where you left him. or walk away from the same man and turn back to find him walking away too,  but with his head turned back at you. that you can ride elephants in the circus and fall in love with the stable boy. or break up an ill-fated wedding just in time to rescue the groom from a life of splendid, unwanted riches, and flash forward a few months later, and you're picking up his dry cleaning.

but perhaps the second greatest feeling is snapping out of that haze. driving home on the highway, and it hits you. that you don't have to paint your lips or plan a covert mission to capture the man of your dreams. you don't have to wear chanel or louboutins to stand out. you can be yourself, in a little honda. in sweatpants and no makeup and a bun. and you're still the star. of your sweet, simple, beautifully undramatic, little life.