The Homework Never Ends I wouldn’t want to be with people without tears

The Fiesta Square/Appleby Adventure of ’10

Our story begins with me slacking off at work.

On the great (for now) comic Multiplex, there's a running subplot about the main character being in love with How to Train Your Dragon. As I read the latest installment this morning at work, I decided that, this being the final showing night at my local multiplex, I had to give it a shot. Some of my favorite movies are 'for children', so I wouldn't be surprised if it blew me away.

Plus, my mate just switched to night classes in his First Responder training, so I was going to have to find something to do for the evening. I decided that at 7:30 PM, I'd bicycle (he had the car) over to my local AMC 16 and pay $4 for the penultimate showing of How to Train Your Dragon. Bonus: I'd get to bike home in the dark! Already, I could taste adventure.

In the hours between his departure and mine, I took a brief nap. I was aware of a short rain and some wind. I recall that the nearby flag was flapping very hard. When I woke up, the road was wet but my little apartment complex was otherwise unscathed, so I assumed we hadn't gotten more than a sprinkle.

I put on my bicycling robe and wizard hat and started bicycling. It was overbearingly muggy, a sign that more rain would be coming, but I wasn't worried. As Dad used to say, I could use a shower, anyway.

As I bicycled through the Bishop Drive neighborhood, I noticed something odd: Some of the trees had downed branches. I decided they must have been chopping them off to clear the power lines and didn't think any more of it until just now.

I reached Fiesta Square and decided to take the route that goes behind the buildings. I expected there to be some construction equipment parked there, since they've been busy putting in a Chucky Cheese. (Yes, Fayetteville is now a Two Chucky Cheeses Town.)

Instead, I found wreckage. The floor of the alley was piled ankle-deep with what looked at a glance to be foam, insulation, wood, and various wreckage. Part of the fence opposite the building had been smashed. My passing thought was that someone had been driving a truck full of construction leavings out of the building site and had gone off-kilter and into the fence. People were all over, picking up the wreckage. I noticed one man taking pictures.

I got through with no trouble (this is why I ride a mountain bike) and made it to the theater sweaty and overheated. Here's something I love about the AMC 16: I bought my $4 ticket from a really nice lady who said the movie was great, and then went inside and turned in my ticket stub. I half-expected the dude inside to ask to look inside my backpack. They never do. Had they, they would have found gasp a water bottle and an emergency Swiss Roll (for low blood sugar). But, see, these guys are cool.

It being the second-to-last showing, I was alone in the theater. This was my first time being utterly alone at a movie; even in empty theaters (mainly the excellent Vantage Point), I had always had a friend along. However, I found the aloneness liberating; I could react without fear of judgment, and more importantly, without the fear that I was merely parroting the reaction expected of me.

I'll save my in-depth review for when I've gotten to finish the movie. However, the first half was pretty great.

For those who've seen it, I had just reached the part where they're at the top of a pine tree. You know what I mean. Suddenly, the screen dims, a buzzing fills the air, and the emergency lights come on.

"Um!" I called up at the projector. "I think the film is having sex with itself!" Ah, the things that pop into my head when I've been alone for an hour.

The situation continued, so I grabbed my backpack and walked out into the hall. It was deserted and the lights were flickering. I half expected Pyramid Head to appear at the far end.

I dashed to the other end and into the lobby, where some of the staff were standing around looking mystified and calling their manager on walkie talkies. Soon after I appeared, people began pouring out of the other movies. The manager arrived, advised that the power was out and they were on emergency power (the buzzing was the generator's alarm sound), and asked that everyone form a line to receive free passes. Since mine was a last-showing, I got two.

At this point, sunset was over and it was getting dark outside. We noticed that, across the square, over by the bank, there were some electric company trucks out with their flashing lights on. I told the manager that I was going to bicycle over and find out what was going on.

The ride across was a little nervous. The parking lot lights were out, so everyone getting into their cars to leave represented danger. Nonetheless, I kept to the less-driven areas and stayed safe.

The electric company workers told me what had happened.

Ready?

The roof of the Big Lots blew off during the storm.

Apparently, there wasn't just a drizzle, but a storm, complete with winds strong enough to damage trees (remember the branches?) and blow the roof off a store (remember the wreckage?). The people I saw sorting through and taking pictures were doing so under live wires; the electric company had only just decided/managed to turn them off.

I bicycled over to Hastings, the makeup store, the restaurant, the Deal$, and the theater. At every place I found people standing around mystified, so I spread the word that the power wouldn't come back on for another hour or two. Then, seeing lightning in the sky and remembering that the rain would come again soon, I headed home.

The neighborhoods along Appleby were also dark, so on the way home, I told people standing around that the power would be a while coming back. One man was absolutely blown away to hear that the Big Lots' roof had come off.

Bicycling home was an adventure in itself; all the streetlamps were out, making the ride pitch-black. I rode one-handed and called my mom with the other to regale her with the tale; she said I should plan ahead better. Thanks, Mom.