That hot heaping tub of greasy over-salted popcorn is sensory manna from heaven – never mind that its factory color and flavor resemble nothing in nature. You smell it as you walk into the cinema. You hear it as you buy your ticket. You see it carried past as you jealously eye those ahead of you in line. You feel it as you head toward your seat, unable to resist stuffing a handful in your mouth en route (spilling half of it down into your shirt in the process). You taste its comfort and care not that it’s the nutritional work of the devil.
“You” here meaning “me,” of course.
And I have the whole thing to myself! Never in my life have I ordered a large tub of buttered popcorn just for me. I am gloriously alone, and don’t have to share a single kernel.
It is the 80th anniversary of the premiere of Gone With The Wind, and I have the chance to see it again on the big screen in glorious restored technicolor. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a cold dreary February afternoon.
My mother handed me a heavy hardback copy of Mitchell’s book when I was very young and impressionable, home sick from school. It was a battered first edition, published the year my mother was born. Lying there on the living room couch, wretched and unable to eat, I devoured every word. Fifth grade? Maybe sixth? I knew that Rhett Butler was what sex was all about long before I had any inkling of what sex actually was.
The theater was packed – lots of women my age, and many of them with their daughters. While my mother got me hooked, I went to my first GWTW screening alone. There was a revival in the mid 70s, when I was in high school, and I walked upstreet one night all by myself to see it at the local movie theater. That was a pretty damned bold move, back then. When I recounted my story at the yearbook staff meeting the next day, the unrequited Rhett Butler of my youth said, “Gee, Missy, I’d have taken you if I knew you were going by yourself.”
I rolled my eyes despite my lonely desperation – it would only have been to add Pity Dating to his professional resume under Community Outreach and Public Service.
So I’ve come full circle. Forty-four years later, I am again alone at a theater watching Gone With The Wind. This time, though, I am confident enough to order exuberant popcorn and then chomp on it for four hours without worrying about other people hearing me chew. Maturity has its perks.
The sign over the concession stand says that a large popcorn with butter contains 1170 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat, and a whopping 1,500 milligrams of sodium — nearly enough for the entire day.
Frankly, my dears, I don’t give a damn.
Thanks for joining me! Please leave a comment, or reach me at mirthfulmmissy@gmail.com.
I’m so glad you are back!
Thank you, my friend! Whenever I start thinking about high school (something I try to avoid), I invariably remember our glory days as the stars of Bye Bye Birdie. More unlikely casting there never was — but we done good. We showed ’em all. I do remember having paroxysms of embarrassment about having to kiss you at the end, though :-)
Oh Missy, yes indeed unlikely casting. I look back with so many “if onlys”. Without Birdie and chorus high school would have a total loss.
My parents took me to a GWTW showing on the big screen when I was about 5, I’m sure due to their unwillingness to pay a babysitter. It was my first big screen movie. Of course, it set an impossible standard for movies and men.
So is it Rhett or Mr Darcy?
Tough call. Very tough call. Ideally, one figures out a way to enjoy the companionship of both gentlemen. Not together, mind you — just some sort of civilized time-share agreement. Alas, I don’t have the waist of Scarlett or the wit of Elizabeth Bennet.
Your description of the popcorn is perfect! I refer to it as a “vat”, and joke about the cancelling-out properties of a large diet Coke. Why on Earth would we want to know the calories of such things? Everyone knows calories have no power in the dark!
Love the “vat” imagery. That’s somewhat better than “feed-bag.” And yes, I confess to having a Diet Coke along with the vat — something I’m secretly ashamed of, since drinking it aligns me with the current White House (I’d prefer to think we’ve nothing in common :-) I tell myself that some of my best friends drink Diet Coke. And, hey, it’s important to be broad-minded.
I’ve been appalled at the sodium content of common foods. Ramen usually clocks in at about 1200 mg or more (depending on the brand). I don’t like anything that much. At least just use half the flavor packet.
Moderation in all things — including moderation :-)
I just split a tub of popcorn with Katie and feel no guilt. Large Sprite with sugar. Captain Marvel needs calories!
Guilt is over-rated. And just getting through all the movie previews requires great fortitude and exertion, which surely cancels out the calories.
I too am a great admirer of Gone With The Wind. I think it was the most romantic and sexy movie ever! Especially when she wakes up in bed the morning after he ravaged her. God – I loved Clark Gable. Great movie. I also feel the same about popcorn as you do 😋 There’s nothing better!
Love you Missy.
P.s. – happy you’re writing again. ❤️❤️
Thank you, Auntie! It’s good to be back. I don’t have the red earth of Tara to sustain me, but I do have Mirth.
If I had known, I would have joined you with my own popcorn. Such a rare and missed treat.
Ah, but GWTH is divisive. People either swoon over it or consider it dated, racist, misogynist, revisionist nostalgia. It’s hard to know where one’s passions can safely be disclosed (unless one just broadcasts them, like Scarlett in the library or Missy in a blog). Next time, for sure — and I’ll happily share my popcorn with you.