A Cliff Hanger!

   When I was a kid you could usually find
me at any one of several neighborhood
theaters on most any Saturday.
    It didn't matter what was playing
although a Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, or
Bowery Boys movie was probably on the
marque.
    It was the weekly Chapters or Serials
that kept me coming back!
    Screen heroes like Superman, Batman,
and Rocket Man, aka Commando Cody,
would fight the bag guys in a 12
minute episode that would end as a
"Cliff Hanger." Each week somebody.
usually the hero, would end up in a life
or death situation. You had to come
back the next week to see how that
situation ended.
    The Cliff Hangers were on my
mind yesterday as my wife and I went
to Cinemark to see a movie.
    There was a hint of what was to come
when we walked into the theater and
"heard" the previews of coming
attractions. The screen was blank!
But audio from the previews was coming
through the surround sound speakers.
    These days there's no one actually in
those Projection Booths so it's up to the      
audience to let someone know there's a
problem. Three or four of us left our
seats to spread the word.
     Back in the days of film my Dad
would have spotted a problem right
away and fixed it within 5 minutes!
      After a few minutes someone from
the staff came into the auditorium to let
us know a technician was "rebooting the
system" and that all would be well shortly.
       He returned about 15 minutes later as
the lights were dimming and asked if anyone
wanted to see the previews. I don't know if
there was an actual vote. But the Feature
apparently won as it began shortly thereafter.
       All was well until, during an important
scene towards the end of the movie, the
screen went dark and the lights came up!
        For a second I felt myself back in
my neighborhood theater, planning next
week's return visit to see how the story
ended!
       This time though, I only had to wait
about ten minutes! The technician must
have been close by!
        Even though the disruptions were only
temporary the nice folks at Cinemark
rewarded the customer's patience with a
free pass to another movie!
        I really like how this Cliff Hanger
ended!
        Hope your endings are happy and
that all your NEWS is good!