“I wish I had a box of Alka-Seltzer and a sling-shot. I could keep myself entertained for hours and I would never have to leave the parking lot.”

These are the words I witnessed Bob Vincent utter as he stood in the foyer of the church looking out the window at a parking lot full of pigeons. It was from this humorous and spontaneous statement that I realized random thoughts of nonsense are more enjoyable than any outing to a movie theater.

With random thoughts of nonsense, one can laugh with the individual who made the statement and in turn carry on more humorous conversations of nonsense which will eventually lead into more deep, soul provoking ones. Thus, we fulfill one of our purposes that God had intended when he created humans – to have unabated fellowship and communion with each other. These are, also, some of the traits that help shape what is known as a group of people who are generally not blood relation but who share common attitudes, interests, or goals and, frequently, live together: a family.

This same aspect does not apply to movie theaters, however. Nothing is random about a movie when it seems Hollywood is producing and débuting movies every two weeks. Random thoughts of nonsense only last a moment whereas movies last two hours or more and are, in turn, full of nonsense. Talking is considered a nuisance at a movie. So, when an individual is caught in the act of conversation, they are usually abruptly cut off with a resounding and harsh “Shhh!” from someone else.

There is no fellowship at a movie theater. Unless, however, you consider the following as fellowship: “Hand, meet popcorn. Popcorn, meet mouth.” This ‘meeting,’ of course, is short lived once the hand has met the bottom of the empty popcorn bag. Thoughts and meaningful conversations are free of charge. Movies cost $7.50 if you’re unlucky and $5.50 if you’re military, depending on where you live. And usually the only lasting conversation is held after the movie is completed which generally follows as such: “Wow! That movie was awesome. I gotta pee!” Of course, when questioned later on what the movie was about, the answer is given in the form of a blank stare, useless garbled words and, “Oh! But, you gotta see the movie.”

Now, this entire dissertation could very well be considered just another random thought of nonsense and hold no meaning to certain individuals. But, in hoping I accomplished one thing, that you now know what fellowship is and, more importantly, what fellowship isn’t.