Hillcrest High School, McFarland Mall Pep Rally, Wed Aug 28, 1985 скачать в хорошем качестве

Hillcrest High School, McFarland Mall Pep Rally, Wed Aug 28, 1985

Just in time for THROWBACK THURSDAY and to mark the demolition of a Tuscaloosa landmark this week -- I ran across an old video clip a little while ago and knew that I had to go ahead digitize it and post in on YouTube today. I totally forgot I even had this -- Wednesday, Aug 28, 1985 and it was a Hillcrest High School Pep Rally at McFarland Mall. There are A LOT of recognizable faces in here (the ones not pictured were probably grounded or in jail!) Instead of editing out some of the times I left the camera running -- figured I'd just leave it in because you can get a glimpse of a few more people -- dutch angles and all! This was shot with a home camera -- a little better than the '82 HHS Basketball footage I posted earlier today -- but still not great. And yes -- the McFarland Mall is being demolished as we speak. Just seeing this video floods my mind with so many memories -- both of people and a place. And more times than not -- they were always connected. McFarland Mall was such a part of the fabric of my life -- of our lives. It was always there and always represented so much happiness. Where do you start? Well how bout at birth - McFarland Mall opened the year I was born - 1968 and in just a few short years we would move literally right across the street to Skyland Park. There is no doubt that my passion for movies was born right here at McFarland Mall inside the Fox Twin Theatres -- I saw my first film here. And as I grew -- so, too, did the Fox -- from 2 screens to 4 screens to 6 screens to 12 screens. My memory of growing up at McFarland on Disney movies like Herbie the Love Bug and Blackbeard's Ghost and Escape to Witch Mountain and an endless stream of Kurt Russell titles is as rich and vivid as the Technicolor process that brought them to life on the big screen. On one occasion after watching THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, I couldn't wait to get home to Skyland Park -- I jumped on my bicycle and raced down that steep hill towards Skyland Blvd with the imagination only reserved for the very young -- thinking that if I could pedal fast enough and with as much energy as Kurt Russell's character did -- I could take flight. Of course -- that bike never left the ground -- but that McFarland Mall movie theatre carried me and my friends to so many new and exciting places -- like Rydell High School in 1978. GREASE was the word! It was the first time I remember going to see a film with a big group of friends. We were in the fifth or sixth grade at Maxwell and the coolest part was actually getting to go to the movie with Tammy Parker! Yeah, yeah -- I know -- it wasn't a date -- but she and I were under the same roof, in the same room .... sitting within a few rows of each other. Life was good. A year later, in 1979, I'd sneak in to see my first R-rated movie at McFarland Mall -- the images of Sigourney Weaver in ALIEN still resonate in my mind. I remember opening those double doors and looking behind to see if anyone was watching. We had now graduated from elementary school and those same doors seemed to magically open for several other "R" films including one in 1982 called PORKY'S. Dr. Suess was right ... Oh the places we would go and the things we would see! But these were just a taste of better things to come. As a teen, we really were living in a special "golden age" of movies. We had John Hughes and George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. God we had it made and we knew it! And then there was 1985!! FOOTLOOSE and ST. ELMO'S FIRE were released this year. I don't think I've ever bought as many tickets to two films as I did these. But my old friend McFarland Mall would provide me with many more firsts. My mom said my first pair of shoes came from here -- she emptied the bank to buy Buster Brown's from Wagners. I had my first haircut here. I ate my first pizza here at Pasquale's across from the movie theatre. I bought my first record here. I bought my first cassette here. I opened my first bank account here. I had my first cotton candy here. I bought my first stereo here. I first listened to Wayne Mills here. I played my first video game here. I had my first date here. I had lunch for the first time with one of my future business partners here. So if I seem a little more sentimental than usual today -- it's because I probably am. You see -- a little part of me -- a little part of us -- died this week -- and it won't ever be back -- except in our memories -- where most good things hang out.