Daily Cascade

Those Drive-in Movie Theaters!

Prompt:
On June 6, 1933, eager motorists parked their automobiles on the grounds of Camden Drive-In, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
Have you been to a drive-in movie? If you have been to a drive-in was it with family or with friends or on a date?
If you haven't been to a drive-in, can you remember a movie that featured scenes with drive-ins?

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After the sunset, the world seemed to slow down and the giant outdoor screen came to life. In the dark of the night, fireflies and stars watched as young loves sparked, couples and families laughed and enjoyed the show as relationships deepened.

Magic and nostalgia so poignant...right? Not for me! I didn't go to any drive-ins until I met my husband. Commack in Long Island, NY, had a good drive-in theater that was managed well and there were a string of shops behind the place, which were mostly kept open until midnight for the movie-goers' purchases. Among those was a deli-ice-cream store, which we liked to visit often. Even then, even for that ice-cream, we went to the drive-in only a few times because at the time, most movie theaters had air conditioners put in anyway, and across from that place, a movie theater was already established next to the bowling alley.

The movies I recall with a drive-in scene, if my memory isn't mistaken are Lolita, which I hated, and Grease, which I loved. My mother's appreciation for those two movies was the exact opposite of mine, which goes to show what a generation gap is.

Then, one other reason I didn't like to go to drive-in theaters is because of the insects and flies that bite people. I have the kind of body that is an insect magnet. There may be 100 people in a place and one insect, and that one insect will come to bite me.

Also, I don't like any distraction when I am watching or reading something. In those days, there usually were couples in other cars that used the privacy of their car as their bedrooms, and they became rather noisy, sometimes too noisy, until the guy who was overlooking the place came and knocked on their car to warn them or someone from another car yelled, "Cut it out!"

So much for that cool summer air, blend of starlight, crackling speakers, and popcorn and soda venders that knock on each car's door when the movie is at its height of excitement. Yet, people still fool themselves with the false memory of nostalgia, moonlight, and the glow of the projector beam at the far end of the theater.