Tale As Old As Time

I enjoy the show Inside the Actors Studio - same thing with biographies, I like to know stuff.  One of the first questions James Lipton asks is, "What was your first experience with the movies?"  Not that I will ever be on this show, but I have my answer prepared.

Beauty and the Beast.  We went to see it after church on a Sunday afternoon.  At that time the movie theatre was in the mall.  My mom, sister, Arliene, Carly and myself ate lunch in the food court beforehand. I remember walking down the hallway and sitting towards the front of the theatre on the right side.   It was a great afternoon, and a wonderful movie.

My love for this movie can be seen in physical objects that I have.  Call me sentimental (or a little bit of  a pack rat) but I haven't been able to throw away my Beauty and the Beast lunch box and beach towel.  In more recent years I have acquired a Belle mug (it's gotten me through freshman move-in the last two years) and an ornament that graces my Christmas tree.  My senior year of college my VCR (yes I still used it) ate my VHS copy.  It was a sad afternoon, thankfully my sister got me the DVD for graduation.

That same year, two friends and myself traveled south to Florida for Spring Break.  We spent two days at Disney World and the three of us all had something different we wanted to do.  Rosanna wanted to ride Splash Mountain, Rachel wanted a carmel apple, and I wanted to meet Belle.  I am not exactly proud of standing in line with 5 year olds in princess gowns, but it is a reminder of how much my friends love me.  When we made it to Belle, Rachel shoved me forward and said, "She's a big fan."  The girl was very nice and even said we could be sisters.  Sad but true, it made by day - as evidenced in the photo below.

This past weekend I traveled to Atlanta to visit a friend.  Part of that weekend was filled with her wedding plans, but Saturday she took me to Beauty and the Beast.  Some how I had managed to not see the Broadway production yet, and her being such a great friend knew it was the perfect gift.  Once again I found myself surrounded by 5 year olds in princess gowns.  It was a great show, and as I read the playbill I found myself envious of the 23 year old actress playing Belle.  I love my job, but I would be okay with being Belle for a while.  She's smart, independent, and has her own library - what more could you ask for?