DEEPER INTO MOVIES

Seb and I went to the movies last night-- a dystopian teen adventure based on a book series that he adores. We had a great time, but what sticks with me the most is our ticket taker.

He was an older man-- probably in his sixties, although his Regal Cinemas hat was pulled down a little too tightly for me to tell for sure. He grabbed both of our tickets simultaneously-- mine is his left hand, Seb's in his right-- and proceeded to tear them each along their perforations with a single hand, before returning the stubs to us with a flourish. “Enjoy the film!” he enthused as we passed through to our theater.

Now, in the loose choreography of our evening-- navigate through traffic to theater, hunt for parking in a crowded lot, purchase tickets, survey the candy counter, etc-- our ticket taker probably had the power to influence our experience positively or negatively by only 2%.

But the small yet profound fact is that he chose by his actions to make our night 2% more positive. He could have been sullen or distracted, and by force of unfortunate experience, I likely would not have even noticed the 2% deficit.

And here's where I get all mawkish and preachy, by suggesting that in the course of our 2% exchanges with our fellow human beings, we should make the effort to cut through the undercurrents of fear, disconnectedness, and anxiety that drive us all, and engage in as many 2% positive exchanges as we can manage.

Hold a door, wave someone ahead of you on the expressway, donate a bag of groceries if you can afford it.

Because the percentages add up...