Open Letter to a guy at the Theater

Hey Dude, you didn't see me, but I saw you.

Well, to be honest, I heard you first. And your kid, I definitely heard your kid.

I'm gonna be honest, sir: at first I was surprised that you took a child as young as your son to see "Jurassic Park" in 3D.

But then I thought to myself: It's dinosaurs for crying out loud! What's not to like for a little kid?

I wondered, sir, whether you and your wife were embarrassed by your little boy's ongoing commentary on the movie. I'm here to set those possible fears to rest: I and everyone sitting around me thoroughly enjoyed the comments from the peanut gallery.

We were all absolutely charmed by that high-pitched voice squeaking, "Yay! T-Rex!" when good ol' Rexy bursts out of the fence for the first time, if our general laughter wasn't a good indication. 

I think I almost collapsed out of my seat giggling when I compared your child's reaction to the three young teenagers behind me. You see, during the scene where the velociraptor shows up in the maintenance shed, the young people behind me (who had been mocking the film up to this point), all jumped in their seats and let out some very shrill screams.

Behind them, I heard your son yawn and say, "When is T-Rex coming back, Daddy?"

Sir, your kid is awesome.

But what really caught my attention, Mr. Moviegoing Dad, is what happened after the movie, when everyone was getting up and leaving. As I threw away my 3D glasses, I looked over to see your child happily chattering about T-Rex while you smiled. Then, he looked up at you with so much hero-worship in his eyes and said, "Thank you for taking me to the movie, Daddy! Thank you!" And he reached up and took your hand as you beamed and said, "You're welcome, son!" And my heart just about melted when he squeezed your hand and said, "Daddy, I love you."

You, sir, are awesome. I hope I randomly run into more folks like you in the theaters.