My best friend emailed me a story:
My boyfriend and I went to the AMC to see a movie. We got there about 5 minutes before the movie was supposed to start and were surprised to find the theatre was packed. It was probably the smallest theatre I've ever been into and we stood at the entrance for a few minutes to see if we could figure out somewhere to sit without having to go in the front 3 rows (it makes me sick to sit that close). There were empty seats; however, post had purses in them - we had assumed that people were saving those seats considering we were standing there and you would have thought the women would have moved them if they were available. There was a row of handicapped seats right as you entered the theatre (just past the front row seating). Printed on the seats were notes that said the seats were to remain reserved for handicapped patrons until the designated show time and if they were still unoccupied then they could be used by non-handicapped patrons. So we waited, the lights went down and the previews began - I went and got us popcorn and candy and right as the feature film started, an elderly handicapped woman came in in a wheelchair along with two other women. Now there were other handicap seats in the row - however, we had the only two next to each other - the other ones had spaces for wheelchairs so it was one seat, empty space for about 5 feet and another chair. One lady went and sat in a far seat, the lady in the wheelchair got up and sat in a theatre chair and the other woman sat in the wheelchair. The second we saw this family walk in, we felt awkward for being in these seats even though we followed the appropriate directions so I decided to go over and speak to one of the ladies (the one now sitting in the wheelchair) and told her they were more than welcome to have our seats - we would sit somewhere else, obviously, we aren't handicap and could sit closer. She appreciated my offer but said it was okay - so I went back to my seat and told my boyfriend how bad I felt, which he did too, I turned around and all those purses were still on the empty seats - no one had come to sit there and no one had moved them even after seeing all this commotion going on literally right in front of the screen between us all! We sat there for a few minutes longer when another lady walked in that was with the group of people with the wheelchair - she had gone to go and get popcorn. I saw her give it to the other women and then she began to sit on the floor in the open space next to the wheelchair! I was shocked so we both instantly got up and again went over to speak with them - we basically begged them to take our seats! Again, not one person offered to move down into an empty seat between groups so that two seats would be available or move a purse - so in frustration and disappointment with people - we left the theatre, went to the Customer Service counter and got our money back. I just couldn't believe that people wouldn't move their belongings as they saw these older ladies struggling and willing to sit on the floor and us looking for new seats.
Always try to help others out. Regardless of age, it will make the world a better place- one person at a time.
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