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 Mickey Baker has owned The Strand – our local
movie theater – since the new releases starred Virginia Mayo. The
Strand, naturally, is an icon here. More than a few of our
long-lasting marriages in the area began with a first date there.
Most of us have consumed more than our share of Raisinettes and
Jujubes while watching Duke Wayne whip the bad guys.
We know every inch of The Strand. We know where the rips are in the
used-to-be blood-red carpet, which of the seats don’t fold all the
way down, which seats are most secluded in case it’s a smooching
date.
It was ol’ Dud, back when he was about four feet tall, who
discovered how to combine chewing gum and the lock on the back door
to provide five-finger discounts for friends wanting to watch Victor
Mature run around in a loincloth.
The Strand, in other words, is a vital part of our past, if not of
our lives today.
We seem to just go rent those tapes and disks now and stay home and
watch the newer films when we feel like it, and that might be
because we now appreciate being able to stop the action for an
occasional bathroom break now and then.
Attendance at The Strand dropped dramatically when home
entertainment really hit a lick. But Mickey fought back. He tried
the free popcorn route for a while.
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All he charged for was the
butter. Attendance didn’t really pick up, and the popcorn bill was …
well, appreciable if not staggering.
Mickey now thinks he has the
answer. He bought a disk player thingie that works on a big screen.
Then he bought some old movies and lowered the price.
The first night he did this was a triple header, and we all turned
out to see our old heroes vanquish Nazis, solve the bank robbery in
Cactus Gulch, and find out who really killed the big-city mayor. We
paid too much for popcorn, but who cares?
The Strand lives on, even if there is more gray hair there than at a
Percheron horse show. Besides, when was the last time you saw The
Duke standing 15-feet tall?
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
Brought to
you by A Cowboy’s Guide to Growing Up Right, from www.riogrande
books.com
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