Fast forward to the end of September, dad is healed, the porch is close to finished and I have lost 49 pounds.
I was agonizing over which raincoat to take to Kansas. Dale said I should bring a light coat. I don’t have anything that fits. I’ve gone from a size 24 to a 14 – six dress sizes. I gave one hundred and forty-five pieces of clothing, size 24, to ‘Transitions,’ a charity that helps women from abusive relationships get back into the workplace. Little did I know that I would not need a coat. I should have taken shorts instead. It never got lower than 75 degrees during the day.
Dad and I were on our first vacation together without mom. Kansas was not entirely what I had expected. Western Kansas is still relatively flat, but it has trees – lovely sycamores and oaks. They have beautiful structure that I longed to paint. If I go again I am going to take my paints.
I loved the little town of Council Grove and all the people in it. It felt like home. There is an empty movie theater in town that I would love to get my hands on. I wish I had an extra couple of hundred thousand, I would buy it.
There is a need for entertainment for the young adults in the town. I am told that the kids in town have plenty of events and activities available to them until they graduate from high school, then it is a vast wasteland. The closest place for even a movie is 45 minutes away.
I would invest in the youth of the community. I love the college age kids.
Let me dream a bit.
The theater would be a gathering place for the 18 to 30 somethings. Just a cover charge at the door and everything would be available to them except food and drink (non-alcoholic).
Let’s tear out half the seats and put in tables between the rows so you can eat your pizza or fries as you watch the movie.
There is evidence, from the building of a Life Center (gym), that the town’s folks seem to be able to pull together. Perhaps I could get the Pizza Hut, Sonics and Dairy Queen to alternate “guest chef” night. They supply the food to match the event and we sell it for them. I like the idea of working to assist everyone in the community.
While we’re redecorating let’s tear out the seats closest to the screen and install a dance floor. On the nights there was not a film, there would be music and dancing. Maybe showcase some local bands.
If there is a basement, I would convert it into a giant gaming room with a 50 foot screen on each of the four walls. Lots of comfy chairs and couches in the middle to make gaming hours fly by.
Maybe there would be a time we would share the space with adults in the form of bingo afternoons and romance movies for those who are interested. Perhaps there could be an afternoon when mothers with children are encouraged to come without worry of a child crying.
We would take advantage of every holiday to have a cool event to prepare and attend. The week of Halloween we would show nothing but horror films and have a costume ball.
Thanksgiving we would show films with a message and have a turkey trot or a Sadie Hawkins dance. Christmas we would bathe ourselves in the season of giving with films and fantasy, and host a ‘winter white’ dance with all those old romantic songs we are afraid to admit we like.
How about we decorate to lift spirits and create a cool atmosphere. Paint can take us a long way. I love doing murals. Maybe there are some young artists in town that would loan their talents to the theatre for a few weeks of free admission and to feel the buy-in of having their art on the walls of their gathering place.
And, let’s talk about employees. We could use some young adults to keep us on top of the latest games that need to be purchased, the latest trends in what the younger set would like to see, and folks that can help handle the crowd because they know the players.
Ah, I love dreaming. No limits - just an over active imagination with an out-of-reach goal - for the moment anyway.
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