30 June 2010
Today, after a visit with the midwife, Jennifer, Owen and I stopped for dinner at Chipotle. Or, as Owen calls it, A-pote-sway. We dined at the one in Highland Park, on Ford Avenue. We’ve been there before, and we’ve certainly visited other Chipotles before (including: Eagan, Apple Valley, Grand Avenue, West St. Paul, and the Mall of Hysteria), but this is the first time I recall being blown away by the LOUD music.
It wasn’t exactly bad music; it was the kind of generic stuff you’d hear at a wedding reception to get folks dancing. But it was just so darn loud. While standing in line waiting to order, we even contemplated dining out on their patio – and I pretty much hate eating outside, as the temperature/wind/humidity/sunlight/precipitation nearly always seems to conspire in some sort of configuration to warrant such an activity a hassle. Nevertheless, tonight was one of those precious few times when eating outside wouldn’t have been an exercise in frustration.
Alas, after getting out meals, the patio was full of other people. Likely they were all put off by the music, too.
I really hate having to scream at people who are sitting right at the same table with me because the music is so loud. There are some stores that blast music, too, and I generally avoid those. I’m all for quiet music playing, and I like those restaurants that play classical music at an appropriate volume but, I swear, nothing turns me off about a restaurant quicker than loud music.
Except for TVs.
01 July 2010
Today, while in the waiting room just prior to an appointment I was bringing Owen to, I glances over at the Pioneer Press sitting on the table. There was a picture on the cover of one of the sections that showed a mom and her young son sitting in a theater, and the caption said:
“This is his first time seeing a movie in a theater, said Carrie Albers of New Brighton, mother of Eric Molde, 6…”
So, what first caught my attention was that this boy, Eric, was six years old and hadn’t been to a movie theater in his entire life. (Okay, actually, the first thing to catch my attention was the caption’s lack of quotation marks around Carrie’s statement, but that’s not the point right now.) Six! SIX! Oh my god! Owen has been to the theater six times and he’s only five. He’s been to the theater to see…
Cars, Horton Hears a Who, WALL-E, Earth, Up, Toy Story 3
Naturally, I had to pick up the paper and see what sort of a mom holds out on her kid like this for more than half a decade.
And here’s what kind of a mom that is: the kind that has a kid with sensory issues. You know, like autism.
Okay, so then why bring him to the theater now? Because, and here’s the great part, Roseville Theater has “Sensory Friendly Film Night” for kids with sensory issues. The parents who are there don’t have to worry if their kids (or others) have to make funny noises during the show. In fact, it’s probably expected.
To help mitigate any anxieties the kids may have, the theater staff plays the film at a lower volume and with the lights on.
But here’s the insanely awesome part:
They don’t show oodles and oodles of shitty trailers and lame-ass commercials AND – are you ready for this, because this is pretty much the best thing ever? – You can bring your own snacks! I’ll say this again: YOU CAN BRING YOUR OWN SNACKS!
I really, really, really (okay, maybe that’s too many “reallys”) hate the commercials that play when you first arrive at the theater – whatever happened to the amorphous shapes that silently flowed on the screen back in the 80s? And, when I’m going to see a Pixar, I don’t give a rat’s ass what sort of garbage Dreamworks plans to vomit onto the screen next month. I don’t want to see which stupid Saturday morning cartoon is being “reimagined” for the big screen, I don’t care about sequels to the two hour cliche’ that was Spider-man, I don’t want to see how yummy the high-fructose corn syrup phosphoric acid swill known as “Coka-cola” that’s available for $4.75 in a 92 ounce plastic cup is supposed to be, I don’t need to be reminded to “pitch-in” or to turn off my cell phone, and I certainly don’t need a commercial advertising the sound system and the very theater I am currently sitting in.
Kudos to you, AMC Theaters!
See you on Sensory Friendly Films Night!