Tradition

After losing my brother, Ben, a few years ago I decided that every year on his birthday I would pick out a movie that was showing at the theater, that he would have wanted to see, & go watch it. He loved movies & his favorite thing was going to the theater to watch them. When we were growing up there was a theater in Morgantown, PA that he would go to because he got in for free; the only person that had to pay was the guest he took with him. He would spend most Saturdays watching 2, sometimes 3 movies in one day. In-between they’d break for lunch at the food court & then head back in for another showing. I would go with him depending on the movie, but sometimes he’d choose scary movies & I don’t do well with those.

Along with starting this tradition came the movie watching rules that Ben implemented; these rules were for everyone not just family. You were allowed to get snacks but you had to eat them before the movie actually started - eating during the previews was acceptable. You were allowed to talk while the previews were showing but once the movie started there was no talking. Asking questions were frowned upon; if you get lost mid-movie because you went to the bathroom, well that’s just too bad you should’ve held it. He took his movie watching seriously. =)

Due to being sick the week of Ben’s birthday, I went last night & watched Big Hero 6:

Yes, an animated movie & he would’ve loved it. We were always suckers for animated movies. One of our favorites is Bolt. There were several parts of this movie that played perfectly toward Ben’s kind of humor & I pictured him laughing hysterically next to me. I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it, especially if you have kids.

Always remember the good times, never the bad. Sister misses you Brother.