Dinner and a movie with Dad

           On my sixteenth birthday my dad and I started a birthday tradition.  He took me out for the dinner and movie of my choice and I did the same for him on his birthday.

            Sometimes the birthday meal was a trip to a steakhouse and sometimes it was at a buffet restaurant, one year it was a simple roast beef sandwich from a fast food restaurant.   It really wasn’t important where we ate, or what movie we were going to see.  The important thing was that this was a special time that was just me and my dad.   My birthday date with Dad whether it was my birthday or his was a day that I think both of us looked forward to year after year.

            When I got married several years ago and our traditional birthday dinner and a movie date seemed to fade away.  I always managed to take my dad out to eat for his birthday, but taking him out to see a movie somehow was forgotten of indefinitely delayed, especially after my daughter was born.

            This year is going to be different.  I am taking my dad out for his birthday and we are going to have a nice meal in whatever restaurant he wants to go to watch the movie of his choice. 

            It was no surprise that when I spoke to my dad several weeks before his birthday that he was quick to tell me what movie he wanted to see. “We’re going to see the Lone Ranger for my birthday this year aren’t we?” 

           There was a light in his eyes and in his voice when he said it, and I knew he was looking forward to it as much as I was.  I think he was glad that this year the movie that was our birthday tradition would not be forgotten like it has been the past few years.

            I really don’t know the reason why my dad likes the Lone Ranger the way that he does.  Maybe it’s the western theme that takes him back to his childhood or maybe it’s the story of the last ranger that survived an ambush, I don’t know, all I do know is that for as long as I can remember my dad has liked the Lone Ranger.   He even had a truck that he painted grey and had the words “The Lone Ranger” painted on the side.  I would not call him a diehard fan, I mean he does not have Lone Ranger memorabilia all over his house, but he does enjoy watching the classic television episodes with Clayton Moore in the role of The Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto.

             The Lone Ranger movie that came out this year over the Fourth of July weekend opened to mixed reviews.  The movie may be the best I’ve ever seen or it may be the worst I’ll ever see.  I really don’t know nor do I care.   The real reason I’m going to watch the movie is not because Johnny Depp is playing Tonto, and it’s not because it’s a Disney movie.            I’m going to watch the Lone Ranger movie with my dad because it’s what he wants to see on his birthday. 

            When I think about the Lone Ranger movie years from now I am not going to remember if it was a blockbuster at the box office or a flop.  I’m going to remember the wonderful birthday dinner and a movie date I had with my dad.  I am going to make a memory that I will be able to cherish for years to come, and I think that is a lot more important than what some Hollywood movie critic has to say about a movie that they aren’t impressed with.