Avery says kids as young as eight or nine would routinely go to the movies on their own and spend an entire day in the theater.

You never, ever wondered when the movie began.

You just went to the movies.

[audience applauding] [upbeat music] It had nothing to do with showtimes.

You would just watch a movie wherever it was playing at that point you walked into the movie, watch it to the end, watch the next movie all the way through, then watch the movie that you started with, and you would always say to the person with you, "Is this where we came in?" [audience cheering]

[siren blaring] And Stanley's family, like everyone in the Bronx, participated in air raid drills.

There were practice blackouts, where you were supposed to turn out all the lights in your apartment, and there would be tests.

There would be an air raid siren that would go off in the neighborhood, and you'd have to pull down your shades and turn out your lights.