I went and saw JACK REACHER at our local Cinemark the other day — and as a side note, Tom Cruise was not awful in it. In fact, he was quite enjoyable. A little self-effacing, with a relaxed delivery, and no psychotically clenched jaw muscles beneath a piercing gaze of piercingness — you know, the kind designed to make the bad guy's clothing burst into flames at the sheer intimidation of it. Nope, in this flick the Cruisemeister was quite likable. And really, if he were to ask me, I'd tell him to do what William Shatner did and make a brilliant career out of poking fun at himself, sprinkled liberally with that which made him endearing in the Reacher film: barely disguised sweetness.
So anyway, after handing my ticket to the ticket guy, and while debating whether or not to give in to my uncontrollable Pavlovian response to the smell of buttered popcorn, I noticed a uniformed police officer standing (in a rather tall and burly manner) at the back wall, watching all of us little moviegoers arrive. I stood there looking at him, then slowly followed my huz down the hall toward our theater.
I knew why the dude was there. I can read the paper. I still get a shard of ice in the pit of my stomach thinking about the events of the past few months in our country. And I must tell you, Officer TheaterProtector honestly made me feel better. Just by standing there looking all police-y. So I went back and told him thanks. Which was the only time I saw his concentrated demeanor crack a bit. Into a smile.
Yeah. I appreciate these guys and gals who protect us. I have a brother-in-law who does that too. I hate to think our society has devolved into a state where we need that sort of surveiilance. But I'm grateful for the people who put themselves on those lines for us goofballs. We who spill soda on the theater floor and explode popcorn all over the row in front of us when that one guy jumps out from behind that one thing on screen and startles the living shortcake out of us.
It would be lovely, though, if we could get back to a place where we didn't need that. Maybe if we watched a few more movies with a few fewer guns, we could get there. Just a thought. In the meantime, Thanks, Protector People. May you live long, live safe, and never have to do anything more than look intimidating. If you do, I'm sure Tom Cruise wouldn't mind loaning you a few of his better REACHER lines. The one involving drinking blood from a boot should work in just about any situation. Google it. While the rest of us go watch WE BOUGHT A ZOO instead.
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