Brings a tear to the eye

I was chatting with another usher last night at Side by Side by Sondheim, discussing various shows. He mentioned seeing Signature's Les Mis and being surprised at the people crying. He was all, "But I guess I remember seeing it for the first time and crying." I told him that even though the number of times I've seen it has reached double digits, I still cry. I didn't mention that sometimes I tear up just listening to a recording of it. Or how I bawled numerous times when watching the 25th anniversary concert.

Some things just have that effect on me. For example, Apollo 13. I watch it every time I run across it on tv. And pretty much every single time, I wind up at least tearing up. It's always the moment when they're waiting for them to emerge after reentry. It's the moment with Lovell's kids, when they think the module burned up. The daughter has tears in her eyes, and looks down a bit, clearly thinking, "My dad is dead--it's real." The son, at school, looks up at the clock, to remember the time it happened. And me? I cry. It's like a switch.

And I can't resist it.