Okay, so I tried to go to a movie today with my mom and sister. We don’t get to spend a lot of time together because we’re all very busy, but Mom had called us last week to see if we could all do this. We found that, remarkably, Sunday afternoon would work for all of us. Since I don’t get out much without the kids, I was really excited. And we were going to see Momma Mia, which I’ve wanted to see for weeks. Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth on the same screen - yummy.

So we got to the theater, got our tickets and popcorn, went in and sat down. Sat through all the previews. Movie starts, and there are my two guys, looking quite fabulous.

Five minutes into the movie - three rather large and very loud women waddle in and proceed to look around for seats. They didn’t want to go up the stairs because it was too dark and too far. (I know this because they were having a protracted conversation about it right in front of me.) After a minute, they decided they’d better just sit in the front so Mary could see. Mary sat at one end, and another one sat at the other end of the row. The third woman did not sit down. She continued to stand in front of me, asking if Mary had her popcorn while Mary asked where her Coke was. Their conversation was not whispered. It was not even spoken quietly. They were trying to make themselves heard over the first song which, by now, had started. Not only could I not hear, I still couldn’t see because the third woman was still standing in the middle of the row between her two friends who were about 8 seats apart and still talking loudly to each other. My mom and 3 or 4 other people around us and demurely “shh’ed” them, but to no avail.
After 3 or 4 minutes of this nonsense, having missed the entire exposition of the plot, I leaned forward and asked one of them if they could please be quiet. She turned around and fairly shouted in my ear, “Why don’t you just learn to be more patient!”  So I got up and went to look for a manager. Evidently, while I was gone, my mother asked if the other woman could at least sit down, and all hell broke loose.  The woman who had told me to be “patient” told my mom to get out of her space. (No, the woman was not a teenager. More like 60.)

Meanwhile, I could not find a manager. I was irritated that these rude old women were making me miss my movie, and I didn’t really want to miss more of it. So I headed back toward the theater. As I was walking down the hall, the woman who had been standing passed me and hissed, “I’m getting a manager too!” I just shook my head and went back in. My mom and sister saw me coming and got up. They had decided they’d had enough, and these women were showing no signs of settling down. “Let’s just go and come back later,” my mom said as we walked back out. “We won’t be able to enjoy it with them sitting in front of us.”

Back in the lobby, I saw the manager talking to the woman who’d passed me in the hall. My mom and I joined in the conversation as my mortified sister took to the sidewalk to text her best friend. These women were “handicapped,” and the “concession stand line was really long.” My mother pointed out that when she and her disabled friends went to movies, they always tried to be early because it took them a while to get settled too. I couldn’t help mentioning that if they were running late and the line was so long, maybe they could’ve skipped the popcorn or come back for it later.

Long story short - the poor manager just wanted us all to go away. She refunded my mom’s money and gave us all free passes to come back. My mom, sister and I went to lunch and then went shopping. We’re planning to try to see Momma Mia again on Wednesday evening.

I don’t usually speak up like that, but their lack of consideration for the other 30-40 people in the theater was outrageous. Being disabled doesn’t mean you have the right to be rude. I have several disabled friends who would never be so horribly inconsiderate.
Now I remember why I usually just wait for the DVD.