Why Drive-In Movies Should Make a Comeback
Since today, June 6, is National Drive-In Movie Day, I thought I would try to convince everyone why drive-ins should make a comeback. I have many happy childhood memories at the drive-in. My mom would make popcorn and get the old ice chest and fill it with Pepsi. All of us kids would collect our pillows and blankets to get ready for our big adventure, falling asleep in the car while a movie was playing in the background. I know it doesn’t sound like fun, but when you are a kid, everything out of the ordinary is fun, especially since money was tight. We didn’t get to go very often, but when we did, we really enjoyed ourselves. It used to be just a few dollars a car load. It didn’t matter how many people you could squeeze in the car; it was still the same amount. We spent many enjoyable times at the Glen Dale Drive-In.
I particularly remember one drive-in experience that makes me laugh to this day. Billy Jack was playing. I don’t remember the year, but I was pretty young at the time. Anyway, if anyone has seen Billy Jack, you will remember there was a pretty graphic scene fairly early in the movie. I thought my mom was going to go ballistic! She ranted and raved that it was supposed to be rated PG, but that was definitely not PG. The reason I remember this so vividly is because my mother is very mild-mannered and she never yells, never. Well, that evening, she was yelling. She was telling us to lie down right now and not look at the screen and told my dad that we were going home immediately, which we did. I saw Billy Jack years later and that was the only part of the movie that was off-color and wasn’t even that bad, although my mom certainly thought so.
Of course, the drive-in changed when I became a teen. I think it was $2.50 per person then. That didn’t matter to us though. We would pool our money, stop before we got to the drive-in, and stuff two or three people in the trunk, pay, park and let them out and watch the movies. The owners had to have known. There were way more kids than there should have been. They didn’t seem to mind too much. They would walk around and keep everyone in line and quiet. I never got to stay for the second feature because I had an 11p.m. curfew, but while I was there, it was a good time.
When my kids were young, I took them to the Glen Dale Drive-In, too. They loved it and would never fall asleep like I did. They insisted on watching both movies on a blanket in front of the car. They even enjoyed the intermission with the dancing hot dog and hamburger! We didn’t get home until 1:30 or so in the morning, but they never cared. I was always ready to leave at the end of the first movie. I think I’ve seen the Lion King at least 20 times, and that’s not counting when it was shown on TV. But even so, drive-ins really need to make a comeback because it is a fun way to have inexpensive family time. Even with matinee prices, taking two kids to the movies is expensive. Add snacks and the cost of skyrockets. I say bring back drive-ins, bring your own snacks, make memories and watch movies. Sounds like a plan to me.
