Salvaging a Hot Afternoon

It is hotter than I ever remember it being this time of the year. The heat index hovers around 115 as we move through one dangerously hot day after another.

The perfect escape from the heat seemed like a movie. My family unanimously decided on the final Harry Potter movie. We had a Groupon for Regal Cinema. It seemed like the perfect afternoon after a wonderful Indian lunch at Rasika in DC.

But when we got to the theater at Ballston, we were greeted with a sign announcing the lack of air conditioning. When would it be repaired? No one seemed to know. How long had it been broken? Since Monday.

Were they kidding us? How could a major theater have been without A/C for 4 days? How could we have bought tickets on Fandango yesterday with no notice about the problem?

We asked for a refund. Not to be had since we purchased our tickets with a Groupon. The best they could do was to give us tickets to use for another day. They were powerless to pay for our parking charge. Argh!

My husband consulted his iPhone to find out where else the movie was playing in 3D. We ended up driving to Georgetown, where we were greeted by cool air and 3D glasses in the Loew’s Theatre.

Not exactly the place or the schedule or the parking fee we had planned, but a great movie indeed. By the time we walked out at 7:00, the outside actual temperature was down to 98 but the air still felt heavy and sickly.

I’m feeling somewhat sorry for the poor employees at the Ballston Regal Cinema who have had to work in such disgusting conditions for the last 4 days, dealing with irate moviegoers like us who arrived only to be disappointed. I am eternally grateful the A/C in our cars and our house is going strong.