 |
| My dad, Chuck Fleming, with a Zombie Beatles poster I got for him. |
About a month ago I asked for
suggestions on what I should watch when it came time for my 365th
movie of the year. My friend John who originally gave me the idea about this challenge
suggested I watch my favorite movie from childhood or the first movie I saw in
theaters. I decided to go with the first movie I saw in theaters because that
day started me on a journey that has seen me sit in a number of different movie
theater while I lean back and enjoy a brand new adventure in front of my eyes.
A couple weeks after I turned six years
old in March of 1988 my dad took me to see my first movie in a theater. That day
he picked the new movie from director Tim Burton, Beetlejuice. The one thing I
remember most about that day was the fact that we didn’t stay for the entire
movie. We didn’t stay because I was too scared of what I saw on the screen, I
just didn’t tell my dad that. I told him I had to go to the bathroom a few
times after I got scared. By the fourth time of telling him I needed to go to
the bathroom he said we should go home, he knew I was scared and didn’t want to
tell him. Even though I didn’t stay for the whole movie that day it is the
first of many movie going memories with my dad. Last night my dad along with my
Aunt Teresa, my Uncle Tim and I watched Beetlejuice together. I had not seen
the movie in a few years so I was excited for another viewing. As we all sat in
my parent’s living room I felt the same excitement I did 25 years ago as it
started. Throughout the movie when something scary came on the screen either my
dad or I would make a comment about that might have been one of the things that
scared me so much as a kid. It was a lot of fun getting to watch the movie
again last night and there was no one else I would have wanted to watch it with
besides my dad.
One of our favorite things to do
together is watch movies. I have watched hundreds if not thousands of movies
with my dad over the years. When I turned sixteen I got a job working for the AMC
movie theater chain. The theater I was hired to work at was still being built
and wouldn’t open for a few weeks so I did my training at another theater. A
few days before the theater opened they invited all of the employees and parents
or spouses to a sneak preview of Lost in Space which was premiering the same
day the theater would open. My mom couldn’t make it that day so a longtime
family friend of ours, Sherry, joined my dad and me for the movie. Since the theater
was not open to the public yet it was very cool to walk around the building and
all the theaters before anyone else. I took Sherry and my dad on a tour around
the building showing them the different places I knew of. Once we took our
seats for the movie our managers talked to us about the fun and excitement we
would be having in a few days but to also remember this was a job. The movie
was not very good that night but it was exciting to know that we were watching something
before the general public. A year later when I was working at Target my dad
came in and bought our families first DVD player. With the purchase he also got
three free DVD’s. One of the three movies he picked was Lost in Space.
My dad is one of my best friends and heroes.
To steal a saying from my friend Sarah, I have a Rad Dad! Ever since the day I was born he has been
there for me no matter what. He has taught me to shave, to drive and how to be
a man. Two memories that will never
leave my mind involve my dad and I both driving cars. The first memory came after
my first brain surgery in 1999 my dad taking me to a follow-up appointment with
my neurosurgeon in Denver. It was an early morning appointment which meant
there was a lot of traffic on the highway. My dad decided to take the carpool
lane down as far as we could to beat some of the traffic. His plan worked and
we made it downtown pretty fast. Another problem arose when the carpool lane
ended and we had to cross four lanes of rush hour traffic to make our exit
which was less than a half mile away. In what might be one of the scariest
moments in my life, yes even after having brain surgery four times, my dad
crossed all four lanes in less than ten seconds while going sixty miles per
hour. I still remember gripping the armrest and bracing for impact because I
thought we were definitely going to hit someone or something, but we didn’t. I
still mention that to my dad every few years and he tells me it was a piece of
cake and nothing to worry about.
Another memory that I have of a car, my
dad and I came when he was trying to teach me how to drive stick. When I was
seventeen my parents helped me buy a 1991 Isuzu Trooper. Though I had already
had my license for a year I was not able to drive it when I first got it
because I didn’t know how to drive stick. To teach me to drive stick he took me
to the parking lot of my mom’s work which wasn’t far from our house. We started
out in the main part of the parking lot so I could get the hang of starting, and
shifting between gears. I don’t remember how many times it took to get it down
but I do know I was told to not grind the gears more than a few times. Once I
had mastered the parking lot he said it was time to learn how to drive stick on
an incline. There was a long drive way at my mom’s work that went from the main
level down to the basement. My dad backed up my Trooper about halfway down the
driveway, put it in park, turned it off and told me to get in the driver’s
seat. Instead of getting in next to me he went and stood about five feet behind
the car. He told me to do everything we had just done in the parking lot and
drive up the hill without rolling back and hitting him. I asked him to back up
further just in case I couldn’t get it in to gear fast enough but he declined
my request. I was so nervous at the time because if I hit my dad and hurt him
how was I going to get him help, I couldn’t drive up the hill. As I sat behind
the wheel trying to build up the courage to turn the car on and drive up the
hill I looked to the top of the driveway to see one of my mom’s co-workers
Ralph watching me with a smile. I finally worked up enough courage to give it a
shot. I started the car and was able to get it in gear and make it up the hill
without rolling back very far at all. After making it up the hill my dad told
me to put it in reverse and go back down the driveway. Once I got to the
halfway point again he stood behind the car again, this time closer, and told
me to do it again. I was still scared I might hit him but made it up the hill.
We did this a couple more times that day before heading home. Looking back now,
I know the reason my dad stood behind my car that day without fear was because
he knew I could do it. He knew I wouldn’t hit him and he knew I would soon
figure that out.
There are so many more memories of my
dad and I floating around in my head. I knew I wouldn’t be able to write about
all of them at once so I decided that I will break them up over different movie
memories. This is just the first installment of what will be many more to come.
I Love You Dad!
No comments:
Post a Comment