People actin' like they got no mama

Jason and I've gotten to go out quite a bit lately. His parents are in town and we have been making full use of their babysitting capabilities. It's like I always say, there's no one you can impose on like family. And so when they're on this side of the planet, we do!

Friday night, we went out to dinner and to see Robin Hood. Unlike most movies, this one had the same release date in Australia as it did in the States. Most of the movies here are released a month or so after their US release date. So I'll hear of my family or friends going to movies that I haven't even heard of yet. And then, if I mention to an American friend or someone in my family that we're going to a movie, they're all, "Oh, how cute that you're so excited to see that movie. It's not even in theaters anymore here." And then I'm all, "Oh, really? Huh. I must've been too busy enjoying my free health care to notice." And then I stick my tongue out.

That last part about what they say and what I say and then me sticking out my tongue may mostly be in my head. But anyway, am I still talking?

Your local shopping mall on a Friday night exhibits a rich tapestry of humanity. Regardless of what country you live in, mall culture has some universal qualities. Dontcha think? There was the Couple With Too-Young Children in the theater. They had two boys with them, probably 4 and 6. They were noisy and climbing over the seats. Let's ask ourselves, is it a good idea to bring really young kids to a 2 1/2 hour movie that isn't kid-friendly? I'll answer that for you. No, it probably isn't. It's annoying to the other people and a little unfair to expect little kids to sit still for that long. Late at night. Just sayin'.

There were the Row of Unruly Teenagers Near the Front. They were young enough to have been dropped off at the mall by their parents and, as the movie started, appeared to have no actual interest in it. That was awesome. Then, the Single Dudes Travelling as a Pack walked in. They were in their late 20s and it seemed important to them that everyone in their vicinity knew that they were funny--yes, funny but not in the common way!--and smart. How fortunate we were that they wanted to share their extensive knowledge and witticisms with us! And as we watched this unfold around us, waiting for the movie to start, Jason and I had the "What is it with people?" conversation. Do you ever have that conversation? Not so much about the teenagers. I mean, who hasn't acted stupidly when you were 14 and got to be out on your own? But yeah, kind of about everybody else. We didn't really harp on it--the movie started and although the teenagers at the front left in a herd about halfway through, everyone else pretty much settled down.

When the previews started though, something was "off" with the screen. The projector was shifted, so that only half the picture was showing. We waited a few minutes to see if it would right itself. It didn't. We all did that, again, universal look back at the projector thing. The Single Dudes starting yelling about it. Someone else in the theater yelled back, "There's no one up there!" The Too Young Kids were tossing popcorn and being ineffectively shushed by their parents. But no one got up to go tell anyone about the screen. Jason looked around and said, "Nobody else is gonna go tell them, are they?" "No, they're not, I said. "But they will keep yelling." "Yeah," he said. "It's diffusion of responsibility," I said. "Yeah. What is it with people?" he said, sighing and getting up to inch his way past about a dozen people to the aisle.

But other than that, we had a very nice time. And we felt a little smug. But only for a minute.