My parents raised me with the notion that every one of us was responsible for giving back to others, not just family and friends, but the local community as well. They modeled that behavior. But as I look around it’s clear to see that most people are self-absorbed, typically being focused only on their own individual lives and immediate families. They seem to spend very little of their own time, if any, giving back to their community and world in any way. This violates a core value for me. As someone who left the working world quite some time ago, retirement has afforded me far more discretionary time, which I assume is the case for the vast number of retirees. I believe it is a personal imperative that retirees never stop finding ways of giving back in their own way.
I believe my parents had been quite correct, it is important to serve as a volunteer. By my mid-20s I had succeeded in leading or participating in a myriad of activities that benefited others. This continued despite the demands of a professional career, child rearing, and the pursuit of a doctorate degree. Most of these activities revolved around my primary avocation interest: running, racing, and general physical fitness. Activities included serving as worksite fitness facility founder, race director, race volunteer, national running team captain, and running journalist. I realized that if it was something I was interested and had experience with I would do a better job. I have been a serial organizer ever since.
Well, what does “giving back my own way” mean? Once I retired from my professional career I decided to indulge one of my serious lifelong interests that had nothing to do with my fitness pursuits: great films. It all started when one of my close neighbors and I took our youngest sons to an outdoor movie event in nearby Boulder, Colorado. The organizers had set up their LCD projection and audio speaker equipment behind the east facing side of a white brick building near the city’s downtown. The 200 or so people in the audience had brought their own lawn chairs and refreshments. There was no entrance fee, but the organizers welcomed donations to defray expenses. I really don’t remember the film we watched but it was clear that everyone there enjoyed it. It was fun for us too. It reminded me of the American drive-in movie theaters that my parents took me to in the family Chevrolet station wagon as a child in the 1950s and early 1960s – it had the same look and feel. It immediately occurred to me: why not replicate this on a smaller scale for neighbors on our residential suburban street? Hence, the Caledonia Circle (our street name) Outdoor Cinema was born. I already owned an LCD projector and a small-scale speaker system. All I really needed to do was drape a king size white bed sheet over my garage door and anchor it down to prevent it swinging in the wind.
I decided early on that only highly rated movies of cinematic and/or cultural social significance would be presented starting at dusk on a Saturday evening. The year 2012 marked the Outdoor Cinema’s first year, which also happened to coincide with my retirement from work. It featured two films, “Witness for the Prosecution” and “The Princess Bride.” The events were an immediate hit with the local neighbors. My invite list grew as time went on and I increased the number of films to four, one for each summer month June through September. Invitees would receive an e-mail from me in late spring with the schedule and a very brief description of films that would be shown. A week or two in advance I would follow up with a more detailed description of the film, including awards received and total run time. I tried to represent most film genres, such as dramas, comedies, mysteries, thrillers, and adventures. But no horror, science fiction, war, Western (as in cowboy), musical, or documentary films.
The audience typically averaged about 16-20 attendees with probably a peak of 25 neighbors and friends. Folks brought their favorite lawn chair, drink, and cookies and snacks to share. My wife and I provided the insect repellent and popcorn. Most of the time the weather cooperated, but more than once the audience had to make a hasty retreat into my garage to avoid rainstorms. Scrambling to move the projection equipment and sound systems up challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and demonstrate resilience. We also didn’t want anyone tripping over any items strewn about our messy garage and certainly not getting impaled on one of our heavy-duty garden rakes(!).
In subsequent years I would end each Caledonia Circle Outdoor Cinema season with a film from my favorite movie director of all time, Sir Alfred Hitchcock. However, I would avoid his most popular classics, e.g., “Vertigo,” “Rear Window,” “Psycho,” but instead show those films which were lesser seen and known but still highly rated. These included “Shadow of a Doubt” (not in coincidentally Hitchcock’s personal favorite of all his films), “Saboteur,” and “Lifeboat.” A few years ago, I made the mistake of showing “Frenzy.” This edgier film was not received as well, particularly by the females in the audience. The lesson learned was that some neighbors (typically not cinematic aficionados) greatly preferred lighter film fare which featured happy endings. I have since stuck with “lowest common denominator” crowd pleasers and included more comedies, particularly the romantic comedy genre. Not my preference, but after all it’s not about me, right?
The summer following the beginning of the COVID pandemic I thought we would all take a break from the Caledonia Circle Outdoor Cinema. To my pleasant surprise, some of my neighbors balked. They complained, “No, in these socially deprived and isolated times we need the Outdoor Cinema more than ever. We can easily distance from each other with our lawn chairs on your driveway.” It worked. I even added a special COVID early fall edition of the Outdoor Cinema with a smaller group of invitees in my backyard. I figured it was only appropriate in our off season to not show full length movies but the most highly rated episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” Rod Serling’s classic American TV series which ran from 1959-1964. With the entire world on edge and everything a bit surreal, I believe the attendees understood the irony of my presentation choice.
Despite being retired, my life was changing with the introduction of grandchildren and more travel to visit them. A full four film summer series was getting to be too much work. Several years ago, I shrunk the schedule down to one film showing a year, usually being presented at the end of the summer in September. The show must go on!
I still look for opportunities to give back “my own way.” Earlier this year I began reading books to young children at a local preschool, the same school my youngest two sons attended many years ago. I began reading two to three books a session to the class of three- to five-year-olds. The last time I visited I brought four books that were recommended by the nearby public library children’s section director. Each book was about being kind to others and the importance of inclusion. This time I decided to follow the reading of each book with a group “1960s” dance break. I brought my own music player. We started with Chubby Checkers’ “The Twist,” followed by Dee Dee Sharp’s “Mashed Potato Time,” then Bobby Freeman’s “C’mon & Swim,” and finally Little Eva’s “The Loco-Motion.” Full disclosure: I had to research and study these dances on YouTube so that I could successfully demonstrate them myself to the children. I prefaced our dancing by telling the children that they didn’t have to follow my instruction, they could move any way they wanted because it was all about having fun. The preschool staff all joined in as well and everyone seemed to have great fun. The school director wants me coming back as often as I am available. Not a bad gig…and it’s just too much fun for me too!
So, I expect my “giving back my own way” volunteer work will only continue and open more opportunities to bring more light into a world that appears to only be becoming darker. I encourage others, particularly retirees, to consider how they might contribute to the world in a similar vein…