Monday, February 25, 2008

What Happen to Drive-In's?

A few years ago, I remember riding the in a car with someone and passing by an abandoned drive-in movie theater.

The place looked gray, bleak and ominous. The movie screen was all tattered and worn, and I noticed that almost all of the car speakers were missing. The snack bar was boarded up and creepy.

I felt like I was in a museum looking at some ancient pre-historic dinosaur.

I tried to recall the last time I had ever been to a drive-in movie….

As a kid, I remember it being a “special moment” when my parents took the family to see a flick outdoors.

We’d take a bunch of candy in a grocery bag, but saved the soft drinks, hot dogs and popcorn for the snack bar. We also took pillows and blankets so we could get real comfortable in the back seat, just in case we fell asleep.

The most high-tech piece of audio equipment at the time, were these little speakers that were hooked to a metal pole that you would attach to the car door window, which enabled you to ear the sound track of the film. It had a single black button on the front, that controlled the volume. The quality was actually horrendous, because it sounded as though you were listening to the film in a tin can. And nothing was more frustrating to my parents, than to pull up to one of these speakers and get all situated…only to find out that the damn thing didn’t work! They’d have to back the car up and then ride around until they found one that functioned properly.

The coolest thing, was that the all cars were positioned on a slight upward slope, as to not block the vision of the people sitting in the car behind you.

Sometimes the film would even have an intermission, so everyone could either use the restroom or take the time to replenish on more snacks.

And as a kid, my most vivid memory (and education), was being parked next to a car with people who were on a date and watching them make out!! To me, it looked like porn. I remember my parents getting very embarrassed.

My favorite movies to see at a drive-in were the SCARY ones. Because being outdoors in the night, somehow made it even MORE scary. Especially if the film was something like, “The Birds” or “Psycho.”

(or anything with Joan Crawford in it)

Drive-in movies seemed to start fizzling out in the late 70’s - and I have no idea why. I think I was a senior in high school, when I went to see my last one, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” with some friends. Little by little they all seemed to be shutting down, and before I knew it…I began to forget that they ever existed.

But for some reason, today I actually thought of them again and decided to share a simple, yet delightful memory of a wonderful experience.

Memories…light the corners of my mind….

Thank you, Barbara.