Heaven, I'm In Heaven

While many have heard me complain about the terrible conditions we live in, mainly how poor pop culture is, last night took me to a time when life was simple and movies weren't yet classics.
For Valentine's Day I took Joanna to dinner and a show. I had two choices. One was a meal and Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and the other was dessert and a showing of the 1954 Audrey Hepburn film Sabrina. I opted for Sabrina. I usually have to be in the right mood for Shakespeare whereas I'm always ready for Hepburn or Humphrey Bogart.
We had a quick, but satisfying, steak at Tony Roma's and then were off to the theater. When we entered downtown Grapevine I could feel a change taking place. I had a hunch this night would be different than most. The city was transforming as we traveled north on Main Street. It was morphing from a modern metroplex, made up of criss-crossing interstates and bustling commerce, to an old-fashioned Mayberry. The buildings were erected to resemble the nostalgic 50s.
Then I saw what I was looking for. With a neon red marquee suspended from the entrance, the Palace Arts Center was looking glamorous and glitzy. Joanna and I entered the theater and waited in line to grab some drinks and dessert. A wine bar was open and I was tempted to order a glass. Generally I detest wine, but since seeing Sideways a few weeks ago I have been tempted to taste something that is not a merlot. We settled for a coke and bottled water.
We were then ushered to the dessert line. While waiting for the dressy men and women in front of us to dip their assorted fruits in the fountain of chocolate, a friendly man in his mid-40s approached us and described the two cheesecakes available. Joanna selected the turtle cheesecake, a caramel-covered chocolate dessert, and I settled for the other. Why should we both get the same one? I was brought a New York cheesecake with raspberry glaze and three raspberries on the side. It went great with my chocolate-covered strawberries.
When the doors were opened, giving us the signal to be seated for the evening feature, I whisked Joanna upstairs. I wanted to experience the viewing from the balcony. An elderly gentleman, with microphone in hand, strolled down the aisle to the main stage. He told us some history behind the movie, the players and the house.
Immediately after the lights went down and the black-and-white cinema came up, I felt a sensation of excitement and child-like joy rise up in me. I was watching a beautiful woman in a classy film from the balcony. All that was missing was the news reels shown about the war before the picture.
Nothing could have gone wrong for those two hours. Afterwards, I couldn't stop from smiling as I drove home. Hepburn was irresistible, as usual. Bogie was hard, but likeable. William Holden was still desirable, despite his character's flaws. And I was hypnotized by it all. I was in a state of admiration and grace.