My Star Trek Experience
If you’re looking for a review of Star Trek then I’d have to say it was good, and you should go see it. For me, the movie was overshadowed by another chance experience. Let me tell you about Rod.
Saturday night was date night for my wife and I. We had decided to drop off our 10 month old girl, go out for a nice dinner and check out the new Star Trek movie because it had received so many rave reviews. Dinner was amazing, and we absolutely had a blast, and it was great to not have to worry about feeding a little mouth. You never appreciate “adult” dinners until you have a child. We then headed to the movie.
Once at the theatre, my wife said she needed to head to the restroom while I waited in the extraordinarily long ticket line. Waiting there, an older gentleman asked me if this was the line to buy tickets. I regretfully said it was, and that it was likely the shorter of the two, and that he should just hop in front of me.
We got to chatting, apparently Rod had not been to a movie theatre in 20+ years. For me this was amazing, because likely it was 20 years ago I saw my first movie. He said he was a fan of movies and was thinking about seeing “that Terminator Salvation movie”. I was somewhat cautious as I don’t think he’d seen the other 3.
We continued to chat about the options he had, and learned that most of the films had already started. I invited him to join my wife and I watching Star Trek. I figured that it had been around at least 20 years and that he might connect with this film the most out of any other. He agreed to join us, and suddenly I felt compelled to buy his ticket as well, which I went ahead and did. I handed him his ticket and he looked back at me and said that was one of the most generous things anyone has ever done for him. I said no problem, I wanted to do that for him.
As we found our seats, we continued to chat through the previews and while we sat waiting for the film to begin (Though this proved difficult as I was sitting on his deaf side). He was quite astonished by the size of the screen, and I told him that there were even larger screens called IMAX screens that are 3 stories high. It was a real treat to be his guide for the night.
About 30 minutes into the film I looked over to see how he was doing and I noticed he had fell asleep. I laughed, and continued to watch the film. Then about 2/3 way through, he got up and informed me that he had to leave now. I said, no problem, I hope you had a great time and maybe we’ll see you soon, and he headed out of the theatre. Not that this event is a normal occurrence by any means, but I feel like usually I would have left things there. I had a great time, and I’m sure he was grateful for the experience as well. However this time, I felt the urge to get out of my seat and say goodbye outside the theatre.
I ran outside and called to him and said, “I hope you had a good time” to which he responded, “Thanks for your generocity, but that movie was just horrible, I did not enjoy it at all”. Taken aback by his bluntness I tried my best not to be offended. I said, “Well, you can’t win em’ all. How about we see another movie sometime, or grab a coffee? Would that be alright with you?” He said that would be great, and I handed him my information.
I don’t mean to tell this story to boost my own ego. I share this story to encourage you, maybe inspire you to do something your heart tells you to do. I can’t count how many times I see something and I tell myself, “Stop, do this NOW, this moment is once and will never be again”. Too many times I keep walking and ignore that tiny voice.
From this moment, STOP doing that. Listen to that voice. If you notice your neighbors lawn is looking shabby and you say to yourself, how nice would it be for Joe to walk outside and see his lawn mowed? Mow his lawn. Or, how nice would it be if you purchased the coffees for the car behind you? Buy the coffee! Why are we afraid to be so generous? Most of the time it’s not even about money! What’s stopping us from being extra-ordinary?
I don’t know what it was about that night, but I felt different. The next day I received a call from Rod, and we ended up meeting for lunch yesterday. It was great to continue to chat with him and learn about his life. I’m expect I will be seeing him again soon.
Follow your heart. I guarantee you it will take you to amazing places.
