photo by @alexxssteyn on Unsplash
I’m not a fan of horror flicks or even movies with too much suspense. I can’t stand it and I can’t “un-see” or forget scary stuff.
I get nightmares for years.
I forgot to mention this little quirk of mine long ago when I met Richard. I was much less confident then. He asked me out to see a movie.
I’d never heard of the film we were going to watch. It was called Jaws. Here’s how it went.
We get popcorn and drinks and he insists on paying for everything because, as I found out, he’s a full time shrink at a prison and doesn’t know what to do with all the money he makes. He was totally insane and very funny.
I liked him.
We settle in and when Jaws starts it doesn’t take long for me to realize I’ll never make it through this movie without resorting to screaming, possible pants peeing and maybe even ralphing up the popcorn and lemonade.
Richard is totally into the movie. But I’m desperate to escape. I take off one of my rings and drop it on the floor. It pings away down through the seats.
“Oh no Richard,” I whisper. “My ring slipped off!”
To his credit Richard offers to go crawling around looking for it, but that isn’t part of my plan.
“You stay here and I’ll go after it. It shouldn’t take long,” I say hoping that it will take a big chunk of the 2 plus hours of the movie to find the ring.
I get out of the row and look back at Richard. He is not going to notice if I go out for a drink and come back later he’s so involved with the movie.
I don’t even bother looking for the ring.
I walk up the aisle to the concession stand. I go to the ladies. I consider sneaking into another show. Finally, the manager of the place comes over.
Manager: Is there anything wrong miss?
Me: I’m on a date and we’re in the Jaws movie and I can’t watch that movie. I’m just killing time until the movie gets calmer.
Manager: The movie never gets calmer. I’ve heard people say they’ll never swim in the ocean again after watching this film. Or even get in boat. Didn’t you know that?
Me: Nope. Oh, and I also dropped my ring in the theater but I’ll get it when the crowd leaves.
Manager: (with a sigh) Okay. Come and get an usher when you’re ready to look for it.
I sit down on a bench by the water fountain. After an hour, I’m so bored I decide to brave going back.
I open the door and the entire theater begins to scream.
Carefully not looking at the screen, I move down to where Richard is sitting and plop down next to him. “Oh, there you are. Did you find it?” he asks breathlessly.
“No but the manager says he’ll help me look after the show,” I explain as I carefully fix my eyes on the side of his face.
I sat through the rest of Jaws looking everywhere but the screen.
Technically I didn’t “see” the movie. Honestly, I don’t think I ever will.
More stories when you subscribe to the weekly email, delivered directly to your inbox! Subscribe here!
How ironic is it that I’m a confidence coach, huh? But confidence is my thing these days.
I work with women and find that by listening and reflecting back to them in our conversations, confidence develops, humor blooms and a shift in perspective happens. Curious? Here’s a button to get more info. on working with me. Offerings
Humor is so important. That’s why you can find me on Facebook and Instagram for Bad Joke Friday (send me yours!) and get some gems of wisdom on Wednesday’s Tangled Web.
Here’s what I believe: Be brave and speak up, cause why not?
