This’ll be a short entry. That was the first sentence I typed, but me being me it turned out pretty long. Oops, again.
The Grand Illusion, Seattle’s best repertory cinema, is closing at the end of the month. Same old story: they lost their lease. Which sucks. It’s a uniquely beautiful space, built of velvet and memories, opened in 1970 in what had previously been a dentist’s office.
They’re looking for a new location, and hope to be back in business somewhere in Seattle’s U-District as soon as feasible. Ya gotta believe, so I’ve renewed my membership.
They’re going out with some grand screenings, including ‘Secret Saturday Matinees‘, where there’s no knowing what’s showing until the light dim.
♦ ♦ ♦
Plotting my bus ride to the theater, I wanted to detour for a couple of sandwiches from George’s Polish Deli. Everyone raves about George’s, but I’d never been there. My route had me taking the RapidRide #G, a new line added only a few months ago, which goes from downtown across Capitol Hill into Madison Valley. New bus, new place for a sandwich.
Up front, I’ll confess to skepticism about the #G. Metro purchased a fleet of special vehicles only for this route, with doors on both sides of the bus. The idea is that having doors on the left side, and building bus-stop islands in the middle of the street, means buses can travel in the left (allegedly faster) lane on the two-lane parts of Madison Street. My gut instinct says it’s a gimmick and waste of money.
The route runs every six minutes, but mostly on Madison Street, a very busy thoroughfare. Word I’ve heard is that #G buses, delayed in traffic, tend to ‘bunch up’, making the promise of such frequent service unworkable in reality. Bearing this in mind, I allowed an extra 45 minutes for my trip. It wasn’t enough.
Took my ordinary bus to downtown, and a #G bus went by as I crossed the street toward the its stop, with a second #G bus tailgating behind it. I missed both buses. That’s ‘bunching’, and it means one of those buses was at least six minutes late. The next #G came eleven minutes after that.
Nothing much to say about the brand-new bus. Instead of that ‘new bus smell’ it stank of urine and barf, which is not unusual on Metro. Other than doors on both sides, the only innovation is that on single-seats, one of the sidebars has been removed. That’s great for fat guy like me. Means I didn’t have to wedge my ass between two metal bars 20 inches apart. Now there’s only one metal bar, so I sat sorta off to the side.
Most of the route has transit-only lanes painted bright red, to keep the bus moving a bit faster. Car-drivers were ignoring the special markings, though, and we were stuck in traffic all the way.
Got off through the left-side doors at Terry Street, and walked a block downhill to George’s. I know nothing of Polish delicatessens, but it seems authentic, a small shop full of ethnic sundries from pickles to rogal świętomarciński. All the other customers spoke Polish, but the nice lady took my order in English.
Couldn’t decide between the grilled Polish sandwich (“kielbasa, sauerkraut, cheddar, onions, pickles, bell peppers, pesto and mustard”) or George’s Special (“chef’s choice of 3 meats and cheese with the fixins”), so I ordered both, plus a purple plum bar that called out to me from the display case.
George’s is a tight space, more store than restaurant and there’s no room for tables, so everything is to go. I’d wanted my order to go anyway, cuz remember I was headed to the movies. But “to go” doesn’t mean “in a hurry.” Yikes — it took George eleven minutes to make my sandwiches.
Then I darted up the steep, steep hill back to the bus stop, and waited another eleven minutes for the bus that comes every six.
Ate the plum bar during the long wait for the bus, and dang me it was terrific. More filling than expected, so the sandwiches remained in my backpack, uneaten until the end of the day.
And that was a big mistake. Usually at a sandwich shop I say, “no vinegar and oil,” but I’d forgotten to say it and they’d poured several ounces on. By the time I ate the sammiches for dinner they were basically stew.
I’m still recommending George’s, because hey, ethnic Polish means vinegar and oil and I should’ve said to skip it. The soggy sandwiches tasted great, and each was enough for a meal; next time I’ll only order one, with no vinegar and oil, please. Also, beware of that hill. It’s seriously steep.
♦ ♦ ♦
Aboard the next #G bus, my plan was to transfer to a northbound #48 at 23rd Street. It’s an easy transfer on the map, as the routes criss-cross there, but in real life it’s something you see too often — public transit designed by people who don’t take public transit.
23rd Street is the busiest north-south arterial in the area, and Madison Street is by far the busiest east-west, but the eastbound #G doesn’t stop at 23rd, only 22nd or 24th. I picked 22nd, since my walk to the intersection would be downhill. At 23rd, though, looking up and down the street, there are no bus stops for the #48.
I started walking, and found the stop a looong block to the south. Almost missed the #48, too. Only caught it because the driver pitied me, waving, and waited while I waddled the last 50 feet to the stop.
Then the ride got nuttier. Any other day of the week, the #48 goes right by the Grand Illusion, but on Saturdays the bus turns on a different street. Why? Who the heck knows, but it left me three blocks farther to walk, which got me to the theater a few minutes late for the show. Thanks, Metro.
Fortunately, the screening was preceded by introductory remarks from Dr Sprocket, of The Sprocket Society. He’d just begun explaining what we were going to see, as I settled into a seat. The theater was only about 1/3 full, because people are idiots who’d rather see schlock than art, and man, this was art.
First, they showed chapter 4 of the serial Captain America (1944), which Doc Sprocket explained was Captain America in name only — a completely different character from the comic books, without even his famous red-white-and-blue shield in black-and-white. Seeing only this one chapter I can’t judge it on storyline, but it was 15 minutes of almost non-stop action with minimal dialogue. The action was great, and looked like genuine fist fights, not the showy shadow-punches you’re used to seeing at the movies.
Then came The Mechanical Monsters (1941), an enjoyable old-time Superman cartoon with phantasmagorical and colorful animation by Dave Fleischer. The story pits Superman against giant robots used for snatching jewels from a museum. Ridiculous but lovable imagery.
The feature presentation wasn’t actually a feature, but I ain’t complaining. They showed three episodes of the original Adventures of Superman TV series, with George Reeves and Phyllis Coats and all, and it was pretty dang good. Interesting backstory, too:
You’ve maybe heard of the movie Superman and the Mole-Men (1951)? Hadn’t seen it myself, and still haven’t, but Doc Sprocket explained that it was a feature film made for theaters, that was also intended as proof-of-concept for the TV show. When Adventures of Superman was green-lit, the movie was re-edited as a two-part episode called “The Unknown People,” and that’s what they showed. It’s cheesy schlock, but fairly smart, and has a moral to the story.
Best of all, they also showed the first episode of the TV series, titled “Superman on Earth.” It’s the hero’s origin story, starting on planet Krypton, where some scientist dude knows destruction is coming, so he and his wife put their baby into a rocket to escape. The orphaned kid crash lands on Earth, where he’s adopted by a farmer family, and grows up faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.
Despite being utterly familiar from the comic books and the excellent 1978 movie and all the unnecessary remakes, this version has pathos, and it’s seriously sorta stirring. This can’t be an original thought, but I was struck with the similarities between Krypton and climate change — in both situations, everyone ignores warnings of the planet’s impending doom.
George Reeves was too old to play Superman, and in this debut episode he’s already 38 but supposed to be 25. Coates is great as Lois Lane, who’s always the most interesting character in the Superman saga. Superman himself is a bore, basically invincible so who cares, but Lois is a modern woman who’s good at her job, shows no fear, and she’s smart even if she never solves the most obvious riddle right in front of her. “That guy Clark, he’s such a chicken,” she says in one of these episodes. “At the first sign of trouble, he always runs away.”
Anyway, it was a great show at the Grand Illusion and an adventure getting there. They’re running a different set of shorts and features every Saturday until the end, and I bought a series pass, so stay tuned.
George’s Polish Deli
907 Madison Street (Capitol Hill)
Food: good
Dessert: great
Price: OK
Service: OK
Transit: #G
Verdict: YES MAYBE (see comments)
1/5/2025
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