When my kids were young adolescents, and just starting to get into scary movies, like the gory slasher Halloween/Friday the 13th-type flicks, I decided if I was gonna earn my stripes as a parent I needed to teach them the true meaning of fear.
I asked them if they wanted to have the sh*t scared out of them without seeing a single drop of blood being shed. They were instantly curious. So on one weekend night, I turned out all the lights, and made them watch "Wait Until Dark."
When I tell you there is no scarier villain than Alan Arkin — I mean try to imagine the order of things for me. I'd first seen Alan Arkin in things like "The In-Laws" and "Edward Scissorhands." Seeing him in "Wait Until Dark?" I would never be the same, and NEITHER WOULD I ALLOW MY CHILDREN TO BE. It was a rite of passage, as far as I was concerned. They needed to experience the terror.
Words fail to encapsulate the parental satisfaction I felt watching my 10- and 12-year-old progeny jump three feet off the damn couch when Arkin comes out of that bedroom at Hepburn. Chef's kiss. Mission accomplished. (The 5-year-old was too young, and in bed.)
They're 25 and (almost) 23 now, and it remains one of their favorite movies. (Not to mention one of my favorite memories of time shared with them.) Eventually the youngest got to experience it, too, and it is something I hope they all still love as much as I do.
Maybe I'll break out the old DVD tonight for fun.
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Here's your boob tube line-up...gonna watch anything? Talk to me!
- NBC “Meet the Press”: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm … Terry McAuliffe … Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Panel: Cornell Belcher, Anna Palmer, Brad Todd and Kristen Welker.
- CNN “State of the Union”: Secretary of State Antony Blinken … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
- CBS “Face the Nation”: Secretary of State Antony Blinken … Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo … Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) … Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) … Claire Boogaard.
- MSNBC “The Sunday Show”: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) … Eric Adams … Maya Wiley … Jonathan Metzl … Montgomery, Ala., Mayor Steven Reed … Evan McMullin … Rachel Bitecofer … New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy … Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
- ABC “This Week”: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg … Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). Panel: Chris Christie, Rachel Scott, Donna Shalala and Laura Barrón-López.
- FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg … Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Panel: Jason Chaffetz, Susan Page and Charles Lane. Power Player: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Centennial.
- CNN “Inside Politics”: Panel: Julie Pace, Rachael Bade, Jonathan Martin, Sabrina Siddiqui and Eva McKend.
