Spice

Inspirational song: That's Entertainment (The Jam)

So I'm getting the message that being a community college instructor is emotionally draining right now. At least it is for the instructor I live with. We are getting very close to the end of the semester, when young students tend to get really squirrelly about getting all their assignments completed and submitted during the best of times. Now that the world has been upside down for almost two years, the stress of a semester ending is taking its toll on far more students. And teachers, apparently.

I got a call from the Mr as he left the school, at the end of one of his long days (three classes taught in two cities), informing me that he needed a break from reality in a big way. He needed to go to an actual theater and watch a movie, specifically a sci-fi movie that came out a few weeks ago that we had yet to see. He had me buy tickets to Dune, and while I was nervous about sitting in a movie theater, I was relieved to see that it had been out long enough that only seven other people had bought tickets ahead of us. We were well-spaced and masked, except when consuming our snacks.

We arrived with only a few moments to spare, and rather than starting the previews on time, the screen went dark and quiet. We all sat there confused for several minutes, until one of the guys in front of us got up and walked to the exit. The Mr said, "there's someone with slightly less patience than I have." I came back with, "no, that guy is our hero right now." One of his friends heard me and agreed. He came back and told all of us in the theater (all ten or so) that someone was on it. I was just glad that the first time I got brave enough to go to the movies in almost two years didn't end up being a total bust.

I saw the 1984 version of Dune once, probably in 1984. I remember going with the group of guys who were my closest friends. They had all read the book and I hadn't. They probably understood most of it. I did not. Not in the least. I haven't read the book in the decades since, but I sure followed the story better this time around.