LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Holding your newborn, and listening to their little coos. Memories of those sweet moments often have parents wanting to hit the rewind button.
Parental boredom though, in the midst of those first months of life, is a less obvious plot twist.
"When you have a newborn, quite often your hands are busy, but your mind is not," said new dad, Zach Allen-Kelly. "It's nice to be able to put something on, to keep you entertained while you're holding them or feeding them."
Allen-Kelly has been doing so with movies, but he doesn't watch them in the same way everyone else does these days.
"I find like if I sit down to watch something on Netflix, I'll start scrolling and there are so many options, that I'll end up scrolling for an hour and half, and then the time I had to watch the thing is over, and I never actually settle on anything," said Allen-Kelly.
He gets Retro, hand-selecting what he wants, just like in the 90s and early 2000s from the shelves of a Blockbuster, sort of.
"I am old enough to remember when there were actually Blockbusters," he said. "I can remember going on Friday, and picking out a movie, and getting popcorn."
Keith Spears remembers it in a different way. His credits include working at the old Charlestown and Sellersburg stores.
While there may only be one Blockbuster left in Bend, Oregon, Spears knows there are plenty of people who miss them.
"I think it just takes you back to a time when things were a little bit easier, and a little bit more simple in life," he said.
So, it makes some sense that Blockbuster boxes are popping up across the country. Allen-Kelly's is feet from his front door at 211 Kennedy Court in Crescent Hill.
"Someone I follow on YouTube did a craft project on making a box and put it out at their house," said Allen-Kelly.
He and his dad did the same with an old newspaper box.
"A bunch of people have asked, 'Hey can I give you my old movie collection that I don't need any more,'" said Allen Kelly.
Just like Leo and a Scorsese film, Allen-Kelly is always in. Neighbors, movie lovers, or bored strangers can leave a VHS, DVD, and Blue Ray, or take one.
"I have a lot of fun checking what's in there, that wasn't in there the day before," he explained.
It's a piece of the past for the next generation in a world that seems like it won't stop fast forwarding.
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