annegiles's posterous

    My husband and I were not the kind of people to flock to the theater every time a new movie came out. We were definitely the wait until it comes out on video and enjoy it at home sort. When the movie Forrest Gump came out we made an exception. One rainy summer night my husband Bob decided on a whim we should go to the movies. We looked in the paper and discovered Forrest Gump was to be playing in a 1/2 hour. Upon arriving at the cinema we were greeted by every other person in Ocean County who thought a rainy summer night was the perfect time to go the movies also. The crowd was enormous with people who inhabit the area in summer so they can be by the ocean. I abhor crowds unless I'm in the front of them. I don't want to be so close to someone that I can smell their cologne, or god forbid worse. I am also mildly impatient....ok majorly. Despite my protests, Bob sternly told me to buy tickets and get in line. When I entered the building there were literally a mob of people, lined up around the corner. As I attempted to make my way through the sea of Bennie's wearing their black socks with sandals, Guidos donning thick gold chains, and locals scowling at their overcrowded usual places, it occurred to me that by the time I got up to the ticket window after all these people the show would be sold out. I made an executive decision that I'd try to catch Bob and we'd see it another time..sensible right? Just as I made my way to the exit Bob was entering. He asked "Did you get the tickets?" I pointed to the line and explained my theory. An angry expression came over his face and he snapped"that's the line for people who have already bought tickets, the ticket window is over there." I couldn't believe my eyes, Bob was getting in line to buy tickets. Did he not see the hoard of undesirables we would be corralled with in order to see this movie? While in line I started to sing songs about how were never going to get seats . By the time Bob got to the ticket window he had enough. When the ticket cashier asked how many he yelled back at her "Forget it!" He then stormed out of the theater and I followed quietly...pleased that we were leaving. I had gotten my way...or had I? Once in the car a barrage of expletives , insults ,and complaints ranging all the way from I fold socks wrong to he doesn't like my meat loaf rained down upon me like they were being fired from a machine gun. I didn't say anything I got my way and nothing he could say would get to me. After what seemed like an eternity of "venting" the car was silent. Not a normal silent, a thick un natural silence that was louder in that car than any noise could've been. I turned to Bob slowly and calmly and said "Life is like a box of chocolates..you never know what you're gonna get" He erupted at me yelling "I know what I got, I got the gooey chocolate in the box that everyone pokes at but no one wants, I got the raspberry jellie." I knew then that it was not my husband but my enemy in that car with me. A fire rose inside of me and I screamed back "I'm the caramel, everybody picks me first, or better yet the special gold wrapped chocolate that is superior to the other chocolates in the box." He yelled "gold wrapped as a warning that instead of sweet tasting chocolate there's a lot of other stuff thrown in there to complicate it." I raged at him " You didn't even make it into the box!  You're in the fricken gum ball machine"  Red faced and angry we arrived back to our house.

   In the end we wound up going to a later show with no crowd. His explanation is still that I was stupid and got in the wrong line, and mine is that it was too crowded to go to that show anyway.

   The summer after 7th grade my best friend Kate and I were hanging around with nothing to do. Ridgewood ,where we lived, was a beautiful town but not exactly a hub of excitement. Then a call came in that a bunch of girls were going to the Oakland Roller Rink...hhhhmmmm. We'd been to the Montvale rink before but the Oakland one was larger and further away.We decided to give it a try.  I slipped on a crisp pair of khaki bermuda shorts and a pink polo shirt. Kate met up with me wearing the same, only her shirt was purple.Kate always wore purple and I always wore pink, and if I felt a little naughty I would leave the top button of my polo undone...but not usually.Kate and I referred to that button as the "slut" button.Our conservative, preppy dress we had in common but our personalities couldn't have been more different. I was a silly, loud, and immature teenager who laughed at everyone and everything...especially myself. Kate was reserved, mature,and almost completely lacking emotion at times. She was always in control of her behavior while mine was wildly out of control...namely my laughing. I used to think I had a disease S.E.L.S  spontaneous evil laughing syndrome...people often believed I did as well.

    We arrived at the Oakland rink and it was big and full of an array of colorfully dressed miscreants. Inside there was loud awful dance music pumping and bright lights flashing. I was absolutely horrified. My eye immediately was drawn to a guy, a little older than we were, wearing a purple shiny shirt, zebra spandex , and an outlandish 80's hairdo.It was at that very moment I announced I would not be leaving our table, and they would have to drag my dead body out onto that rink. A couple of the girls went out to skate and I watched as they made their way around the rink. I then turned to see Kate glaring at me, she was angry that I dragged her out to this god forsaken rink only to sit at a table all night. Undaunted I sank lower into my chair just to make my intentions to not skate crystal clear. In a huff Kate stood up on her skates and declared with a never before seen fire in her eyes "I'm going out there". Surprised that she had that much emotion in her I blew a bubble and said "good for you". Secretly I was totally jealous that she had the courage to go out there. I was not usually the meek one. Arms folded I pretended not to care and looked away. After a moment I scanned the rink to watch my brave friend skate around the tacky lit floor probably while "Funky Town" blared out of the sound system. I didn't see Kate anywhere and I started to panic. I easily was able to spot the others but where was Kate? I got up from the table and skated to the wall where I could see better...and that's when I saw it. Apparently Kate skated on to the floor precisely at the moment when the guy in zebra spandex was "boogying" on by and her skate hooked on to the back of his! Unbeknownst to him, because he was too locked into his cheesy groove, he dragged Kate around the entire rink. As my friend approached helplessly attached to that farm animal on skates I started to wildly wave my arms to alert him to the matter at hand..but he made the discovery first. He put his silky purple arms around her and led her off the floor. He could see Kate was visibly shaken and brought her over to me so I could soothe her asking all the while "are you ok?". That's when I lost it.All at once the whole vision was swirling around my head of the always in control Kate being dragged by a punk rock guy in Zebra spandex. I collapsed to the floor with tears of laughter streaming down my face. Kate turned to me and said in a matter of fact almost icy voice "I don't see what's so funny".

    Just a couple of weeks ago I was at Kate's baby shower and I was recalling that night with her sisters. As we all grabbed our stomachs in laughter I heard a calm voice from the corner of the room say" I don't see what was so funny."