First Time at the Neptune

When Paul and I ere just barely teenagers - 13 or so, so this would've been 1974 or maybe 1973 - we caught the bus from Edmonds to Northgate and transferred to a U district bus.We wandered over to Cellophane Squares, checked out the albums and posters and played video games and pinball machines in the back room.

We wandered over to the used book store on 43rd East of the Ave, or maybe it was on 41st. They had good stuff, cookbooks of advanced illegal chemistry, radical political stuff, science fiction and fantasy, and interesting odds and ends. We wandered up and down the Ave until the Neptune opened, then we headed up to 45th on the Ave, around the corner and West on the South side of 45th up to the Neptune's marquee. We walked under the marquee past the ticket booth to the rightmost door which was open.

Paul led us in, saying "Hello Steve" to the cashier inside who was selling tickets. They chatted for a bit. As owner's family Paul could get in with a friend when ever he wanted. I thought that was pretty cool. One of Paul's older brothers was working there that night and he drove us home later, after the movies were over.

I don't even remember what the movie was. I saw plenty of good ones and an awful lot of mediocre films over the years, and the Neptune had a pretty tremendous role in my adolescence. I liked it from the first time I got to go - not having to pay, and going into the big dark room and watching the film flickering on the screen whenever you wanted - that seemed so cool to me.

I was always up for a trip to the Neptune when we were kids, so I got to know the metro bus system a little bit. The relief when the bus shows up, stepping up and on and paying, shuffling back to find a seat as the engine winds up and the bus lurches into motion. The bus winding around through the neighborhoods out in Edmonds, making stops all along the way. By the time we wind up and go a little faster on our way up to Westgate the bus was often mildly crowded. I learned to play the "staring at others without getting caught" game as you check out the people around you who aren't looking in your direction.

Once we turned 16 and got our licenses we rarely rode the bus. Now I'm much older and have a job in downtown Seattle and ride the bus in and out of Seattle 5 times a week but I rarely think about being a kid going to the Neptune - too tired early in the morning for nostalgia, or looking forward to getting home, either way I rarely think about it.