The first movie I remember: Why I am afraid of umbrellas - Thanks, Mary Poppins!

The first movie I remember seeing was Mary Poppins.  My grandmother took me to see it in a theater, and I remember being very excited to go to the theater.  I remember getting my own little popcorn, and holding my grandmother's hand as we walked toward the front of the theater, and sat on the right side of middle.  I remember my grandmother unearthing peppermint candies from her bag and putting them in her sweater pocket for later.  I remember being excited by the previews, and thrilled when the theater lights went down.

But it wasn't long until I wasn't excited anymore, but terrified.  Most people remember Mary Poppins as the nice nanny who sang "A Spoonful of Sugar" and danced with the chimney sweep, but my memory was more like this:

Since becoming an adult, I have watched Mary Poppins with my son multiple times, and I have NO idea what scared me so much.  My grandmother told the story to make it sound like it was in the beginning of the movie when she appears floating down with her umbrella, and I thought she was a witch, so I screamed, and started crying, and no amount of soothing would comfort me, so we had to leave the theater.  I watched the above trailer, and still vaguely remember the feeling of terror!

However, I also now see the beauty of the movie.  The fact that I didn't watch it in it's entirety until I was in my 30's may have helped abolish  my terror.  Oddly, though, I still knew many of the songs, such as "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," and "Chim Chim Cher-ee."  Now, when I think of the movie, it is more like the actual theatrical trailer:

Isn't it funny how those early memories color our perceptions?  I was afraid of umbrellas, and I still shiver a bit if one is opened near me and I am not expecting it.  When I see the wind turn one inside out, or I see one blown out of someone's hand, I automatically think of Mary Poppins.  It's silly, really, since I actually LOVE the movie as an adult. I credit even Mary Poppins with my concept of work: "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and - SNAP - the job's a game!"  (Mary Poppins)