It's still bothering me today. My family took a friend of ours to the movies at a local theater on Sunday. Our family friend, Seng, happens to have cerebral palsy. We love spending time with him, even though there are many challenges throughout the day that we face and conquer. To Seng, it's just a part of his daily life.
I went to buy popcorn for all of us. It was an extra large bag that was deep in size so I asked if I could please have a box that I could use to transfer some of the popcorn into a receptacle that Seng could get into, given his limited capabilities in lifting and using his hands. As I stared at the kiddie boxes in front of me, I was told by the teen counter person that there were no boxes available. I pointed to the boxes behind her and she said I would have to pay the full price to use the empty box. It was a matter of principle, so I asked to talk with the manager and explained that I needed a box to use for my friend who has cerebral palsy. She told me the same thing, no free boxes. I ended up paying for the box so that Seng could enjoy going to the movies just like the rest of us.
Funny thing though, I hated this movie experience more than any I can remember. Luckily, my friend never knew what happened. What if I wasn't there? It's only popcorn, but what you get in sharing it with others is a big part of the movie experience. Obviously if you want to experience "sharing" and "caring" don't go to the movie theatres to find it.
