Our Viewpoint: Community minded

I remember being in high school when the movie Titanic was released. My friend and I drove to Missoula to see it on opening weekend. It was a big deal to be able to go to the big city for opening weekend of a movie.

That was a whole decade before Netflix first started its streaming service. Now, you can rent a movie and watch it from your own home. However, you miss the joys of the theater. The buttery popcorn, the fountain soda, the oversized boxes of candy and the energy that comes from a crowd breaking out in laughter or screaming and gasping together in a theater.

When everything went digital and our local theaters quit showing movies, we were missing a little sense of community. It was still a joy to go see live music at the Rex or watch the Christmas on Main Street talent or support the Music for Moms event. Now that the Rex is back to showing movies, it's great to see Main Street lined with cars in the evening and to walk by and smell the popcorn cooking.

What's even more amazing is that in the digital age, we get to see movies as they come out. Growing up, you would wait weeks or months for the new movies to come to town, but now we're going to shows opening weekend just like the rest of the world. Last weekend was opening weekend for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes." Along with showing at theaters in the big cities, The Rex had the film as well.

Things change in small towns. Businesses come and go. Thompson Falls is still a great small town, with a great small theater and people who care about the community.

— Annie Wooden