I’ve luckily made it halfway across the country with no rain. In Oklahoma, an almost tornado-level storm passed through, but I had already made it into the city and snapped this photo of its near-constant lightning.
Leaving Oklahoma, I noticed this huge structure that looked like a waterslide—turns out it was a non-profit outdoors centre that had a unique mix of activities including a white-water rapids course and an aerials obstacle course. I took a second to go down these slides which you had to slide down in burlap sacs. They were fast and it was quite easy to get a vicious rug burn from as evident from one of the employees showing me just before I slid.
It’s been real humid moving from the plains to lush and wet greenery.
Lots of Stand By Me-looking bridges (no bodies, thankfully).
Went through a town called Paris—I love that it decided to make its own Eiffel Tower.
Going into Little Rock were some amazing bike paths, including the longest non-car bridge in North America.
I somehow got to review a screening of one of my favourite films, Raiders of The Lost Ark, with a live score performed by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra for the Arkansas Times. It’s amazing getting to see films with others that you’ve watched several times in a solitary ritual over the years. Showing even one other friend helps one tap into an empathetic first-viewing experience, trying to imagine what they’re thinking of each scene; this is especially true with children as I remember having this experience when showing my niece and nephew Star Wars for the first time.
Also the act of watching films with others has always been of great interest to me. I really try to watch the more outwardly vocal reactionary film genres always in theatres as close to their release as possible. These genres are comedies and horror films, where those audible laughs and shrieks heighten the viewing experience. I was reminded at this presentation of Raiders of what a comedy it really is—the jokes were all landing with the audience’s 2,000+ people, making it the most laughter I’ve ever heard while watching the film.
In an era where we’re watching things predominantly in home theatres, on small laptop screens or (worse) smartphone screens, it is hugely worth the effort to attend films your excited about right out of the gate and see them with as many people as possible. The next time you see a favourite film being screened, I highly recommend checking it out for this audience-enhanced experience.
This article appears in May 17-23, 2018.