Toward the end of 2025 the Reading Eagle published a piece of columnist kismet titled, “Guy walks into a bar . . . sees the rest of Rabbit, Run.” That’s right. In it, Steven Henshaw talked about a column he wrote about Updike’s most famous novel after seeing the film version on DVD. “I had low expectations for the 1970 film starring James Caan. How could Updike’s prose translate to the screen? Still, I was curious because many scenes were shot in Reading, the author’s hometown.
“That column focused on how downtown Reading still looks much as it did when the movie was filmed a half-century ago — reason enough for hope after decades of decline. What I didn’t mention was that I returned the DVD to the library without finishing it.” As it turned out, Rabbit may have run, but this columnist couldn’t run from Rabbit.
“On my way home from another event recently, I stopped at Mike’s Tavern in Riverside for a beer. It was exactly 9 p.m. on a Thursday, and the place felt different. The lights were dimmer than usual, nearly every barstool filled.
“What’s going on?” I asked bartender Jon Owens.
“I’m showing ‘Rabbit, Run,’” he said. “It was filmed in Reading.”
“That night, thanks to a chance stop at a neighborhood bar, I finally finished the movie I hadn’t meant to. Call it coincidence — or, better yet, serendipity,” Henshaw wrote.