I attended a midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on Tuesday night, which, I know, makes me a phenomenal geek. But, like hundreds of others at the same theater, I just couldn’t wait to see what this newest installment in the film series would be like.
I was not disappointed.
I won’t say much about it; there are plenty of reviews online you can read. I will just say that this was my favorite of the six books released so far and, as I had hoped, the film was appropriately dark and complex.
The coolest part of the evening, however, had nothing to do with Harry. While waiting in line, Katie and I met a couple standing behind us. We started visiting. They were a young couple; she was in a wheelchair. The manager of the theater approached shortly after we started talking and told the couple that they would not need to wait in line and that he would allow them to select their seats before the rest of the crowd was admitted to the theater. Without hesitating, this guy I had just met responded to the manager by motioning in our direction and stating, “They’re with us.”
“That’s fine,” said the manager, and soon we are all out of line, waiting comfortably off to the side. When the theater was clean and ready for the Harry Potter crowd, we were the first let in and the handicap seating was perfect–right in the middle of the stadium seating, dead center.
I really enjoy witnessing (and especially benefiting from) the kindness of one stranger to another. It was cool.
