Positive Press

Today my wife wanted to go to the mall. We went to the closest one, and did not have to suffer the freeways. I had a relaxing morning, showered, shaved, and dressed. A bit later, after I had a nice chat with a friend, she was ready to go.

We ate lunch at Red Robin, and it was excellent. The service was great, the atmosphere family friendly and the food was delicious. I wasn’t feeling like a burger, so I had the BLTA: bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado on croissant. It was light, had some good protein but not too much for my CKD, I think, and I didn’t eat all the tomato, as that is a no-no for that disease.

I paired it with onion rings as I can’t eat a lot of fries, and had a small side of glorious coleslaw. For a beverage, their unsweetened iced tea with a wedge of lemon was perfect, cool, strong enough and very refreshing.

The onion rings were just a touch greasy, crispy and wonderful. The onions in the rings were juicy and substantial. I finished the meal fully satisfied, and I usually am less greedy for more when I enjoy what I have, so I was grateful.

The portions were not huge, and I was good with that. I don’t need to eat as much in my fifties, and with a movie on the horizon, I figured I’d need room for popcorn. The meal was economical as well.

We walked across the mall to the theater, where we bought the priciest tickets to TRON: ARES. It was her pick, and I did not object, but the Springsteen movie preview we saw was the most interesting part of it for me.

We were going to go for the cheaper seats, but they said the seats would not recline, and physical comfort is important when you are older, so I was willing to pay more.

The movie was very technologically impressive, a visual feast. The story was OK, and the acting very good. It was not the most interesting movie, but from an aural and visual perspective, it was somewhat stunning. I also enjoyed the appearance of Gillian Anderson playing a Brit.

(SPOILER ALERT: on further reflection, I see that Tron: Ares as a morality play was actually a tremendous plus; I don’t know if Hollywood will look at it that way or not; it probably cost a mint to produce, and might lose money at the box office, but the story, sunk in, was a really good and inspiring one, if disturbing and comforting, relative to the justice that was served)

The sound was so intense that the seats rumbled during the scenes of greatest physical calamity, and at first I wondered if there was something amiss outside the theater, but I guess such is the experience with Dolby and IMAX.

We got home safe and sound, and after a good meal, and the prospect of maybe watching the Springsteen movie in the future, it was a good day. #thankful.