As though part of some Jungian collective memory, I imagine all the people who used to go to Pizza Inn together after Sunday night church. What did they experience? My sisters and I, grade school students all, would stand mesmerized in front of the jukebox while Sugarloaf growled out Green-eyed-lady, Ocean lad-eh, our young faces glowing red and green in the light of the songboard. As much as I loved hymns, they had NOTHING on Sugarloaf, or Three Dog Night “Onnnnne is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do. Two can be as sad as one, it’s the loneliest number since the number wunh-unnnnnne.”

Pizza Magic.

Memorized deep in my muscles is the feeling I had when we left Pizza Inn one Sunday evening only to find our car wouldn’t start. Never mind that we were only 9 miles from home and less than 2 to my grandma’s house. This tragic event had at least two of us girls scared enough to throw up all our pizza against the side of the building, as the starter clicked uselessly. Even after a jump a short while later (from the uncle who lived 2 minutes away), my little digestive system was terribly upset, so we had to stop in front of Kenwood Mall where I “fertilized” the bushes in front. Why we didn’t just drive the 400 feet back to the Pizza Inn so I could use an actual bathroom?

Pizza Magic.

My heart pitty-patted the evening I stood inside Pizza Inn waiting to pick up our “to-go” order and there was Larry Nelson, the one person in the universe who had had compassion on this awkward 12-year-old who had joined the diving team late one summer. The kindness he showed me was like breath after being submerged for far too long. And here he was, in Pizza Inn, and he talked to me. He was 16. I was 14. He was simply a boy who had a heart.

Pizza Magic.

We moved on from Pizza Inn when Dad remodeled a little restaurant into a pizza parlor called Everything But Anchovies. That was our favorite for quite awhile. Alas, the chef Mario was a wonderful cook, but not quite as good a businessman, and couldn’t make a go of it. He took his expertise and recipe to another local establishment, which we then began to frequent.

Pizza Magic.

Dad used to create a beautiful booth for the Home and Garden Show to show his wares. He allowed me, a fresh-faced fifth grader to help him work the crowd. Like lifeguards swinging their whistles in smaller and smaller concentric circles, he and I would flick our pieces of pleater back and forth, catching the eye of the unsuspecting crowd. Once we had their attention, I would flick the switch to open the draperies — one panel with the beautiful spring crest draperies, one panel with crummy old pinch pleats — out with the old, in with the new and they would be hooked. In our spare time, I would walk over to the LaRosa’s booth to get a free medium cheese pizza, which LaRosa’s was only too pleased to provide for booth owners.

Pizza Magic.

Once we had moved on from the church that had Sunday night church, we still got pizza, but we brought it home, along with various boyfriends and friends. Sunday nights were filled with pizza, pop, chips, and lots of stories about our family, with one sister acting out the hilarious pantomime of me trying to put my contacts in, which had never been easy for me. Into college, when I would get ready to go back to school after spending the weekend at home, Mom and Dad would often invite my ride to stop for pizza at our house before we left. 30 years later, I ran into a fellow at church who thought he recognized me and reminded me of the pizza he and his friend had had with my family before they drove me back to college.

Pizza Magic.

Going to school in Chicago gave me the opportunity to learn about Giordano’s which immediately became my favorite pizza ever. One of my first dates with Greg was to Giordano’s, and I noted that even the frost on the windows knew we were meant to be, as I could see the shape of two hearts in the frost.

Pizza MAGIC.

It’s no wonder Pizza is my favorite food in all the world. Every bite is filled with memories of wonder, tragedy, adventure, humor, and love.

And don’t even get me started on Tiramisu.

So I was just minding my own business today when I get a call from my sister who is on vacation. She is one busy little bee so any calls I get from her are noteworthy. She was calling today to get directions from Gatlinburg to a movie theater about an hour away. They wanted to go see the new movie, Fireproof. She had heard that it might only be in the theaters this weekend (just opened last night), so wanted to make sure to see it. I had heard of the movie but had completely forgotten about it opening this weekend. After I got the directions for her, I quick hopped on the internet to see where it was playing locally.

Found it. Invited my hunny to go see it with me. He was busy playing Battlefield 1942, but decided he would rather spend time with me, especially since I asked him on a date. So, off we went . . .

Just returned home a few minutes ago. I want everyone to see this movie that deeply honors marriage and what love involves. The movie was made by the same church that made Facing the Giants, which I saw at a time when I deeply needed the message that with God, all things are possible.

Greg wasn’t sure that Kirk Cameron would be up to the task of believably portraying a fire chief. I didn’t really know what to expect. However, the movie was excellent. This movie honors family, marriage, love, Jesus, and forgiveness. There were a few plot points which I could see in advance but so what? As with the first movie, it was inspiring to see all the people who helped with the making of this movie.

Most importantly, Fireproof portrayed what I believe to be true. No matter how difficult a relationship is, when at least one of the people truly repent and begin to live a life which honors and loves their spouse, miracles can happen. Go see this movie!

I thought the accident, fire scenes, and fire station scenes probably captured pretty accurately what those experiences are like, but I’m not a firefighter, nor do I play one on TV. I KNOW the relationship scenes captured pretty accurately what kinds of things happen when love is dying or under significant strain.

Great movie. Great movie. Make sure you leave a comment when/if you see it!