Pay the Price, Stay for the Show

I have found that when people slip in the back door and try to sit on the front row, they usually don’t get to see much of the show before being ushered out the front door.  If that sounds cryptic to you, the explanation may seem strange also, and well…, just hear it through.  

Movie theaters are built with the back at the front and the front at the back.  Consider this.  Most theaters have a front entrance which is normally located near the theater auditorium entrance, which is located in the back of the auditorium room itself.  

Normally, for fire code reasons, there are emergency exits located at the front of the auditorium just to the left, or right, of the stage or screen.  This front of the auditorium room is normally located at the rear of the theater building.  So there you have it.  Movie theaters are built with the front at the back, and the back at the front.  Now, back to my initial statement about what I have found to be true about people who slip in the back door.   

When I was a kid, and occasionally got to go to the movies on Saturday morning, there were always some kids who thought they had uncovered a cheap way to see the movie that no one had ever thought of before.  One kid would pay to get in and then he would open the rear emergency exit door, located just in front of and beside the front stage and screen, to let his buddies in for free.  Of course opening that door flooded the front of the darkened theater with sunlight, and everyone, including the projectionist and ushers, could easily see who came in and where they went. 

Like the little geniuses they were, the sneaks usually dove for seats on the front row, where no sane person would sit due to neck breakage in trying to see the screen.  About thirty seconds later they were being escorted out the front door, which was located at the rear of the auditorium, by giant usher people, armed with security guard style flashlights.  Soon they were embarrassingly ejected out of the back of the auditorium which was at the front of the theater.

For some reason, I never felt sorry for the sneaks that always got caught and embarrassed.  In fact, in my child’s mind, I always felt they were cheating me, because I had paid the fair price along with everyone else, and they were trying to get an unfair and dishonest access .  There were a lot of good reasons the little sneaks’ efforts were wrong then, and there are a lot of reasons trying to sneak in the back door is still wrong today.  

Why people even try this stunt is beyond me.  When they try sneaking in the back door, they still come in right in front of everybody, bathed in light.  We all see who they are and what they are doing.  One thing has changed though.  It’s not with my child’s mind that I reason with the behavior now.  In my adult mind I find adults acting like this deplorable.  Adult actions, no matter how juvenile in their formulation, carry adult consequences.

By now, hopefully, you’ve figured that I’m not speaking specifically to movie theaters and kids trying to slip in the emergency exits.  I’ve probably written enough for this post.  If you’re a sneak consider this.  You came in the back door, which turned out to be the front. And, now you face being thrown out the back, which will turn out to be the front, where you will be embarrassed in front of all of those people who are paying the price to come in the right way.   

By the way, those of you that paid the price and will be staying for the show; popcorn and drinks are on me.

Surround yourself with people who love you, work that you love, and a cause that you believe in.

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