SNIFFLES AND SMILES

This Saturday I had a surprise experience I hadn't anticipated at all but it really moved me. 

I'd just finished reading The Boys by Ron and Clint Howard.  It was a delightful read that I enjoyed very much.  

                                             

Ron Howard  was on the much loved and wholesome TV program The Andy Griffith Show. He played Andy's young son Opie Taylor. Ron later became a standout director and a lot of this book is about his intense desire to direct. His brother Clint was a child actor in the series Gentle Ben and has a long list of credits. They were and are very close brothers. 

Their trip though Hollywood and the famous people they met was very interesting. Ron mentioned that American Graffiti was his first role as an almost adult. Since I had recorded it from one of those trial periods when HBO was free, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I had no idea that I would spend a good portion of the movie crying.

This was the  song in the beginning  that started the tears. After that is was pretty much sniffleville.  It was like sharing memories with an old dear friend I hadn't seen in 65  years. 

 If you are a 50's child or maybe just a fan of the era, give it a play. Beware, possible ear worm.

The plot to me was very adolescent but then I am in my 80's  so most things are. However I soon was very much reliving the late 50's. But what made the tears flow was the sound track. The songs put me right smack dab in that wonderful time period. Suddenly, I was no longer watching, I was a teen again and it felt  damn good.  I could put my self in almost every situation in the movie and oh my the cars. 

Yes there were in-town drag races in my youth, our Mel's Diner was called Smacks, and the dancing made my feet twitch. They even did The Stroll which was a group dance. Kind of a 50's line dance, which few people did well:)

Every time I thought I had it under control, another really cool song came on. The music was almost nonstop. There were  41 hit songs in the movie from that era.

So for 2 hours, I was 18 once more and my eyes have been thoroughly cleansed. I am not a movie crier. The last time I cried at a movie was when Disney saw fit to let "Old Yeller" die in 1957.Never understood why he let that happen.

However  in this case these were good, happy tears. I was smiling through the drops. It was fun vicariously being a teen again and was quite a ride. I normally delete a movie after I have viewed it but I may just keep this one in case I need to exercise my tear ducts in the future. 

Ever get involved with something you thought surely would bring smiles, but tears bubbled up surprising you?  I hope like mine, yours were happy tears.