Thursday, May 18, 2006

SEE YOU AT THE DRIVE IN

I've got 7 whole days off after today, and one of the things I'm planning is to go to King's Drive In theater. There's nothing like sitting under the stars with loads of snacks, a cooler full of cold ones, a snuggly someone next to you and a couple of good movies on the big screen. If the picture sucks, you can always find your own brand of entertainment! RV starring Robin Williams and the cartoon Over the Hedge are showing this week, so I expect to have my funny bone tickled, at the very least!

At King's you see entire families sitting outside their cars in lawn chairs, enjoying the summer evening while kids roam around. With the price of $5 for adults and $2.50 for kids over the age of 6 to see 2, count them TWO, first run movies it's one of the few affordable forms of entertainment left for young families on a budget.

I read somewhere that there are just over 200 drive-in movies left in the US and somewhere else I read that there were only 59 (whatever the real count, there aren't many drive-ins remaining), and out of that Alabama has 11 outdoor movie theaters, with two brand-new venues near Anniston and Dothan. I'm lucky enough to live within driving distance of two of them. Unfortunately it seems that few of our locals take advantage of our drive-ins and I'm afraid that finances may force them to close.

Almost all of us who are "of a certain age"(damn, I hate that term) have fond memories of going to the drive-in ( I'm quoting here) - "The greatest threat ever to women's purity". Everything from sneaking in by hiding in someone's car trunk to having our first sexual experimentations in the back seat. There's a reason that the drive-in is synonymous with teen-age sex!

What about y'all? Do you have some memories of the drive-in to share?


1 comment:

anonymous jones said...

Drive-ins, I love them! They have basically died out here, though. I think there is one left in the whole state. When I was little, I used to go and watch Disney cartoons at the Melody Drive-In with my family. And even when I had my first baby there was one left close by (kind of close by). It is a shame, they were good value. Parents of teenagers will be ecstatic, though!