Bob Charlanza - Eastern Pocono Community News
May 26, 2006

 

 

This may be a first in the short annals of this column. Giving praise to the same subject within a month.

Please do not tell the American Journalism Society of Active Muckrakers about this I may lose my good-standing membership card.

Again it's in praise of Norman Adie, the New York entrepreneur and owner-operator of the newly reopened Foxmoor 7 Cinemas for responded to a community need.

On Wednesday, about 125 special education students from J. M. Hill, Smithfield, Resica and Pocono Mountain elementary schools were treated to a free showing of "Over the Hedge," an animated cartoon feature about, of all things, man's encroachment on the environment from the animals' point of view. That's kind of like a primer for these kids about living in the Poconos.

The treat idea began during the Grand Opening Weekend two weekends ago, when Adie met John, the 8-year-old son of Schelley Cunningham, 43, who works out of her home in Reeders and is Adie's publicist at Foxmoor. Schelley explained to her boss that John suffers from a mild form of autism and she is a rare classroom mom for him in his Pocono Mountain class and sometimes she might need a day off to help out. Adie began asking questions.

"I told him how important classroom moms are for special education children like my son," she said. "And how difficult life can be for the children and their parents. In many cases it is difficult for the family to be as involved as one would think in the school life of their special needs child. I am the first classroom parent that my son's class in Pocono Mountain School District has had in a very long time. Special opportunities like going to the movies is rare."

"In less than a week," Cunningham said. "Mister Adie called me at home and told me to invite the kids to the movies. Whom he meant by the kids was ALL of the special needs children from the local school district and John's class.

"'The children will have their own premiere, we'll roll out the red carpet, take them on a tour, tell them what it is like to run a movie theater and let them enjoy their own private showing.' he went on."

Schelley hopped to it and soon was on the phone with Maria Casciotta, supervisor of special needs children, kindergarten through fifth grade, in the East Stroudsburg district.

"How many?" asked Maria, mulling the out-of-the-blue offer.

"All of them," Schelley replied robustly.

"Are you sure?" asked Maria.

"Absolutely," Schelley answered.

So after some more phone calls and e-mails, Wednesday's free premier went off without a hitch at 11 a.m.

"There would have been more," said Maria, "but classes in other schools had other things planned."

I asked one teacher if the kids were briefed on the movie.

"Are you kidding? They know more about than we do from watching the commercial on television," she said.

Meanwhile Schelley had plied her trade extremely well. When this naive editor showed up with a photographer for "his" column, he was surprised to see television reporters and cameras scurrying about. Even a Pocono Record reporter was scribbling notes.

Adie, who says the drive down from his home in New York only takes about 75 minutes on off hours, made a family day of it, too. He was joined by his wife, Kasey, who had done all the decorating for the refurbished theater, and their two-year-old daughter, Charly.

Adie appeared genuinely thrilled when he addressed the restless kids who had been waiting about 45 minutes for the show to begin.

Publicity shots, interviews with teachers, kids, and the theater people, and the kids' long lines at the candy and popcorn bar had eaten up the clock on them.

"For how many will this be their first movie," Adie asked in his Scottish accent. "Let's have a show of hands."

About a dozen kids raised them. Even the most cynical observer knew the kids' premier was a success for all the kids and for those dozen a real wonderment.