MikesThoughts

Local Muti-screen theaters bites the dust. Many years ago I went on a regular basis to Carmike Cinema Theaters at the Huntington Mall in Barboursville West Virginia. Since I lived close by it was just the thing to do. But I always missed the old theaters down town. There was something about the charm and the smells and it just seemed more like a movie theater to me. Also maybe because I use to live in the west end of Huntington West Virginia and would walk the railroad tracks to town to go to the movies on Saturdays. But Carmike Movie Theaters started changing. The cost of treats at the snack bar started to go out of sight. So high that you would rarely find anyone in the snack bar area before the movies. Then they did something that caused me to boycott them forever. They started showing commercials. Not previews or the short promotion for there snack bar but full national commercials for clothing and cars and such. And not just one or two but 30 minutes of them. If the mov

So Lets Do the Movie Numbers.... Warning, this is another one of my rants so read on if you dare. Tonight I took the very rare opportunity to take in a movie. I say rare since over the past year family obligations have left little time for such activities. But I was in the mood and decided to go see Will Smith in "I am Legend" First let me say that the movie was not bad and the effects were nice but it just seemed to me that I have seen this story before. Come on does someone remember the movie where a scientist crashes in a helicopter and injects himself with an antivirus. Then he holds up in a fortified house in New York. I also seem to think those zombies only came out at night. I just keep saying -- I have seen this story before. OK, so that is enough of the movie review. Let me get back to the rant while it is still fresh in my mind. The movie had just come out and it was Saturday Night in Huntington West Virginia. So where do you expect everyone to be. At the

Christmas Looms around the corner like a dark dragon. Its that special season again were everything seems to hit a once. It is no wonder that the suicide rate is the highest during the Christmas Season. It is the time of the year when the Cold and Flu Virus are at there peak. When the sun has reached it soltrus and is the lowest on the horizon and you come to work and drive home in the dark. At this time of year you start to notice that all the green has disappeared from the hills and have been replaced with drab colors of brown. The sky turns a slate gray and it either rains or snows almost every day. The times when it is sunny the temperature drops to bone chilling cold. Also with everyone going more places that usual and this combined with weather related road hazards the accident rates climb to new heights. And the reality of the season is we spend money we do not have on gifts that are forgotten two days after Christmas. With all the time and effort putting up

Christmas Photo Club Banquet Last night was a big night for me. I was officially sworn in as President of the Ohio Valley Camera Club. This is a real honor since this coming year the club turns 50 years old. The banquet went over great with the membership and was held at Twin Silos Golf Club. The dinner was Prime Rib, Vegetable Melody, Corn, Baked Potato, Assorted Deserts, and Tea and Coffee . The cost to the membership was only 23.00 per member. Since it went so well the membership requested that next years banquet be held at the same place. Since I was putting the event together one of my tasks was to write and to give the prayer before the dinner. I wanted to write something that was photography related and I wanted to try to keep the prayer seasonal. So here is what I came up with. Photo Club Banquet Prayer Dear Heavenly Father we would like to thank you for this wonderful evening and would also like to thank you for beauty in this world that you have created for use to enjoy a

Women - Trying to figure them out. You would think at my age I would have figured out something about why the opposite sex act and do what they do. So here are some generalized observations for consideration. Most women that are on On-Line dating all say the same thing. "I am looking for a man who would be good to me, treat me like a lady, and be faithful and a loving partner." They all go on to say "I enjoy taking long walks, travel, setting at home curled up with my man and a good movie" OK girls does that sound familiar? Well it should if you ever looked at the on line dating profiles. So if that is true then how come women seem to go out with, fall for and hook up with men who are jerks, have tattoos, and could care less about there partner after the score. Women continue to say, "I am not looking for a one night stand and I am not interested in players. I want someone who is truthful and honest" My answer to this is hogwash. What I find is women

Life's a journey... It has been over a year since my last post and I have felt compelled to start posting some of my thoughts again. In some ways this is good therapy. This post is an attempt to catch up on my life's events over the past year and to try to assure myself that my decisions to take a path makes some since. There is three large events that have influence, molded, and changed my life in the past year that stand out. The first and largest event is making the decision to help my daughter move to Florida and to find her way in life. April and her two daughters have lived with me for the biggest part of the past five years. Prior to my divorce she lived with Sharon (my now X wife) and me. At that time she just had Vanessa (who is now 10 years old). During the time April, Sharon, Vanessa, and myself was living under one roof it was turbulent times. Sharon and April never got along. There is a long history behind that but I will hold that story for another post.