One sunny summer afternoon my dad took me to a very historic place in my home town, Batesville, Arkansas. This historic place is known as the Melba theatre, which is the oldest running theatre in Batesville. Today the theatre is probably not as hopping as it was fifty years ago.
If you were to walk down Main Street at night, some fifty years ago, a breathtaking display of lights would fill the sky and light the sky as if the sun was still out. All of these lights would shine as bright as the sun on a clear sunny day. You’ve heard of the light at the end of the tunnel, well the Melba would be the light at the end of Main Street. The Melba sign would be a great thing to see if it was ever shining bright again on a moonlit night. Your eyes would dance as the neon lights glistened with many different colors, back in the day.
When walking into the theatre, immediately the smell of melted butter running over freshly salted popcorn filled the air around you. This aroma usually made a person’s mouth water down their lips like water going down a slide, because of this problem there was janitors that walked behind you to keep the Melba spotless. The freshly popped popcorn was better then seeing Elvis Prestley sing Hound Dog live. Once you put the popcorn in your mouth the smooth taste of liquid, salty butter ran down your throat sending a warm tingling feeling to your brain which created a party of flavor that absorbs into the taste buds on your tonge like a sponge would absorb liquid.
As you walk through the door and down the aisle everything and everybody was in silence. The only sound was a faint whisper amongst friends. While walking down you couldn’t see very clearly, so you would have to feel the soft cushion on the sturdy chairs. Once you sat down it was like you had just sat on a cloud and in your mind you were thinking nothing could stop you from staying in this chair the entire time you were in the Melba theatre. Until the beautiful red curtain split open, revealing a magnificent movie that drew you away from the real world for many hours.
The Melba theatre is a landmark that every traveler, that comes to Batesville, should visit. It might not be glamorous now, but back a couple years ago the Melba was the place to go to get away from the real world. This place is where I saw my first movie and I will never forget how much I loved that experience. This theatre will always hold a special place in my heart.

