At the Movie Theater, 1950s
early economic theory in Oak Ridge



At the movies at that time, if you ordered
two Cokes (Co-colas, we called them),
a teenage boy in a short red jacket would display
the bottles, holding them up, one in each hand —
pause for effect – then upend and immerse
the bottles into two red cups, simultaneously.

So much was happening:
the boy; his high-wave hairdo; a name
in cursive white on the bright red cups.

At nine my eyes were inches above the counter.
I could see the boy’s sure hands and his eerie
calm as the foaming colas rose in their cups,
rose to the rims, and then to above the rims
and then — did. not. overflow.

So much was happening:
the colas were in — and also not
in? — the cups.

At that time, in that early American era
when I was nine, there was no explanation
for what I had seen. The term convex meniscus
lay far in my future — and the boy merely lifted
the empties high, as if in triumph,
then placed them softly in a wooden crate.

So much was happening.
The sleek counter of glass and chrome.
A kind of victory. Was time involved?

The two tapering cups were placed before me.
I put two buffalo nickels on the counter,
heard the clink of alloyed metal
on glass and the purchase was made:
nickels for drinks was the transaction.
Everything else — the several shades

of red, one darker than the other;
the boy’s impromptu flair,
his pompadour; the sound of glass
in the worn wooden crate; and the new,
still formless question in my mind —
was free. All of that was free!

First published in Homage (Ebb Tide Editions, 2024)
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