Summer Americana

There is one activity that is pure Americana and harkens back to the recent American past: the drive-in theater. I think drive-in theaters were most popular in the 1950's as America recovered from WWII and had more expendable cash. Plus it ties in with the American fascination with cars. I'm not old enough myself to have experienced a 1950's drive-in, but my mind always goes back to those scenes in Grease where John Travolta and his leather-clad buddies gathered and tried to win the hearts of Olivia Newton-John and the other girls in poodle skirts. Who can forget the intermission cartoon where the dog-like wiener jumped into the bun?

I remember going to drive-in theaters when I was a child in the 1970's. I remember my parents piling my younger brother and sister and myself into our light blue station wagon with our pillows in tow. Mom would pop up a big pot of popcorn on the stove and empty it into a large brown grocery sack. I can't remember for sure if we took drinks along also, but we probably did. Money was tight back then and buying food at the concession stand was a luxury we just couldn't afford. At the theater, we'd pull into the raised gravel space next to the pole and Mom and Dad would take the large metal speaker box off the pole and hang it on the inside of the car windows. We usually got there way before dark so Mom would take us down right in front of the screen where there was a little playground for kids. Among the movies I remember seeing at the drive-in were Benji, Herbie the Lovebug (the original 70's version), and the Apple Dumpling Gang with Don Knotts. There was a "family-oriented" drive-in near where we lived that showed two G-rated movies and in between the movies they'd show cartoons. As kids, we thought the cartoons were the best part. We'd watch the first movie and the cartoons, but early in the second movie we always got tired. We'd climb into the back of the station wagon with our pillows and fall asleep and wake up back at home as we were carried to our beds (this was back before seatbelts).

We've tried to continue the drive-in tradition for our own family. To me there is just something magical about sitting outside after dark on a warm evening with a lot of other people watching a movie on a screen the size of a huge barn. The concession stand is a glowing hut of activity in the middle of the darkness where people are willing to wait in long lines for $5.00 nachos or a visit to the crowded restroom. Teenagers congregate, moms try to soothe overtired small ones, and everyone squints when they enter the concession stand which is like walking into a spotlight after being out in the dark.

Last night was our annual trip to the drive in. While my oldest isn't that impressed (he'd rather go to an indoor theater), my younger two think it is just great. They set up folding chairs in front of our front bumper along with their dad. My oldest son and I stayed inside the van in comfortable seats. They don't use those big metal speaker boxes anymore. Now they pipe the sound out through small-range radio stations. You can turn your car stereo on to the proper AM station, set the car on auxiliary and hear the whole thing without running down the battery. Like my mom did, I make my own popcorn (but I use the microwave). I pop up about 3 bags of popcorn and put them in big plastic tubs. I pack a cooler with drinks and ice. Money is tight for us just like it used to be when I was a kid. There are no cartoons between movies at this theater. My kids don't know what they're missing. There are four different screens each showing two different movies. You're supposed to pick one screen and stay there for the night, but most people move their cars between movies to pick and choose what to watch. Last night we saw the new Fantastic Four movie and when it was over we watched Spiderman 3. My 5yo was tired and, just like my siblings and I used to do 30 years ago, he took his pillow into the backseat shortly after the second movie started and went to sleep. By the time the second movie was over and we were on our way home it was 2:00am and still a balmy 77 degrees outside. (We woke our son and put him into his seat and fastened the seatbelt. - Some things have changed.) We arrived home late, slept in late this morning, and today my kids are talking about what a great time they had last night.