Weird Things that Happen to Me in Theaters

Weird Things That Happen to Me at Theaters


Ok. I decided to take my three boys to the theater to catch the new Harry Potter film. Being astute movie goers, we decided to go at 9:30 pm on Sunday evening so that we can at least get a seat on the opening weekend. I do the drill and buy everyone enough popcorn, candy, and pop to get sick on through Thanksgiving and we go and find some seats.

My youngest son is sitting next to me and is a definite Harry Potter addict. He’s so excited that he can’t be still or be quiet. As we wait for the movie to start, the Theater only has three ads that it keeps playing over and over and over. Any more ads for Sherman’s Iditarod Ice Cream and I was going to scream.

Just when my senses were being overloaded by the senseless barrage of identical ads being played over and over, I hear a woman behind me say, “Michael?” I assumed that she was talking to her own kid and didn’t turn around. Seconds later, she taps my shoulder and asks, “are you Mike Villar?”

Great. As a lawyer, that question usually is bad. Here I am trying to enjoy a night out with my children and I’m thinking that a disgruntled client or the ex-wife of a guy that I represented is going to say something embarrassing in front of my kids. I turn around and admit that I am, indeed, Mike Villar. Gritting my teeth, I await her response. It turns out that I am totally blindsided.

She asks if I have change for a twenty. I inform her that after the candy, pop, popcorn, and other junk I bought for the boys, that I only have $15 left. “No matter,” she says, and hands me $260.
“What is this for?” I ask. She then tells me the following:

“I spoke to you seven or eight years ago about my son. You really helped him a lot. Well, I’ve owed you $260 since then and have never paid you. In fact, I never knew who you were or what you looked like because I only talked to you on the phone. But, last week, my son was in court again. I heard someone call you ‘Villar’ and figured out you were the guy I owed. I didn’t have any money with me then. Tonight, I came into the theater and you sat down right in front of me. What a sign. I have the money and want to thank you for helping my kid so many years ago.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the $260 was up to $800 with interest! (Just joking). I was amazed. I wrote off her debt seven years ago. If you would have given me a million guesses as to what was going to happen that evening at the theater, getting paid $260 by a client who owed me since 1997 would not have been one of those guesses.

Instead of having to deal with an embarrassing situation or a disgruntled person, I was able to share with my kids the fact that there are people out there who whose conscience causes them to do the right thing, even after seven years. There was no way I would have known who she was. She wanted to make it right and chose to do so. There is hope for us after all.

Blawgerman