Happy, Slappey Times at the Drive-in
Last weekend, I tried reliving a treasured childhood experience: I took the family to the drive-in movie theater. But it turns out No. 3, 4 and 5 sons enjoyed all the treasured-experience type moments. I got stuck reliving the hassles my parents must’ve endured taking a bunch of kids to the drive-in. Proving once again that in the great circle of life, I’m just as dumb as my parents were.
Don’t get me wrong. I really love going to the drive-in. This love springs from fond memories of my parents taking me and my two sisters and two brothers to the Great Oaks Drive-In, just off U.S. 41 in Cedar Lake, Indiana. I don’t suppose we went to Great Oaks more than once a year, and for only a few years when I was small. This is because my dad isn’t a big movie-goer. I don’t think he’s paid to see a movie since 1969.
But no matter how infrequently it happened, the images of “a trip to the drive-in” are etched in my mind. I remember all us kids getting into our pajamas, and grabbing pillows and blankets. I remember eating homemade popcorn. I remember stopping for treats at Toni’s Drive-In – the root beer and ice cream kind of drive-in. I think we made our Toni’s stop on our way to the movie, with my parents nervily pressing their luck that, for the rest of the night, none of us would spill anything wet, sloppy or goobery. Now my parents are lucky in a lot of ways. . .but not that way.
For some reason, I can’t recollect very many of the cinematic wonders we experienced at the drive-in. Except one. I vividly remember “Hatari!” It starred some manly hunks o’ men, like John Wayne, Bruce Cabot, and Red Buttons, and some womanly hunks o’ women, like Elsa Martinelli and Michelle Girardon.. But who cared about any of them? I was seven years old. . .and “Hatari!” had animals! It’s an African safari adventure movie, and I was enthralled by the close encounters the actors had with all sorts of amazing creatures, including a few that were wet, sloppy and goobery.
Now I’m sure there are plenty of things I don’t remember about going to the drive-in. For example, I thankfully don’t recall bickering about things like “He’s TOUCHING me!” or “Make him move his foot!” or “Stop stealing my blanket!” But I’ll tell ya, those are my top memories of taking my kids to the drive-in. And those were just MY complaints.
The drive-in we went to has four screens, a playground, concessions – the works. Unfortunately, it also has a rather prosaic name. It’s located on a busy street called Transit Road, and thus is mundanely called “The Transit Drive-In.” I just think it would be even more fun to go there if it had a lyrical name, such as “Moonlite,” or “Starvue,” or “Hatari!”
I read on the Internet that the most popular name in the history of drive-in movie theater names was “Starlite.” Someone counted them all, and there have been 171 different theaters with that name. Surprisingly, at the other end of the spectrum, there was only one drive-in called “The Slappey.” Really. It was in Albany, Georgia. I was hoping it got its name from what Albany girls would do when those Albany boys got fresh. Or vice-versa. Regardless, the real story is way more mundane: the theater just happened to be on Albany’s Slappey Drive.
The number of drive-in theaters still in business today is a mere fraction of the vast army of screens that once dotted the landscape. I guess their scarcity has made them popular again, and the night we went, the place was jammed. We had to park in literally the last row. Maybe that spurs saucy thoughts in your head (“Oooh! The last row of the drive-in! Hubba-hubba!”). Actually, I got to thinking those kind of thoughts too, but every time I tried snuggling up to my wife, I was greeted with a swift Slappey.
Oh, by the way, the movie we saw was “Shrek the Third.” And everybody really enjoyed it, mainly because it has several scenes that are especially wet, sloppy and goobery. Just like my pillow and blanket, after the kids spilled their treats everywhere.
# # #
TakeFiveT5@yahoo.com
Don’t get me wrong. I really love going to the drive-in. This love springs from fond memories of my parents taking me and my two sisters and two brothers to the Great Oaks Drive-In, just off U.S. 41 in Cedar Lake, Indiana. I don’t suppose we went to Great Oaks more than once a year, and for only a few years when I was small. This is because my dad isn’t a big movie-goer. I don’t think he’s paid to see a movie since 1969.
But no matter how infrequently it happened, the images of “a trip to the drive-in” are etched in my mind. I remember all us kids getting into our pajamas, and grabbing pillows and blankets. I remember eating homemade popcorn. I remember stopping for treats at Toni’s Drive-In – the root beer and ice cream kind of drive-in. I think we made our Toni’s stop on our way to the movie, with my parents nervily pressing their luck that, for the rest of the night, none of us would spill anything wet, sloppy or goobery. Now my parents are lucky in a lot of ways. . .but not that way.
For some reason, I can’t recollect very many of the cinematic wonders we experienced at the drive-in. Except one. I vividly remember “Hatari!” It starred some manly hunks o’ men, like John Wayne, Bruce Cabot, and Red Buttons, and some womanly hunks o’ women, like Elsa Martinelli and Michelle Girardon.. But who cared about any of them? I was seven years old. . .and “Hatari!” had animals! It’s an African safari adventure movie, and I was enthralled by the close encounters the actors had with all sorts of amazing creatures, including a few that were wet, sloppy and goobery.
Now I’m sure there are plenty of things I don’t remember about going to the drive-in. For example, I thankfully don’t recall bickering about things like “He’s TOUCHING me!” or “Make him move his foot!” or “Stop stealing my blanket!” But I’ll tell ya, those are my top memories of taking my kids to the drive-in. And those were just MY complaints.
The drive-in we went to has four screens, a playground, concessions – the works. Unfortunately, it also has a rather prosaic name. It’s located on a busy street called Transit Road, and thus is mundanely called “The Transit Drive-In.” I just think it would be even more fun to go there if it had a lyrical name, such as “Moonlite,” or “Starvue,” or “Hatari!”
I read on the Internet that the most popular name in the history of drive-in movie theater names was “Starlite.” Someone counted them all, and there have been 171 different theaters with that name. Surprisingly, at the other end of the spectrum, there was only one drive-in called “The Slappey.” Really. It was in Albany, Georgia. I was hoping it got its name from what Albany girls would do when those Albany boys got fresh. Or vice-versa. Regardless, the real story is way more mundane: the theater just happened to be on Albany’s Slappey Drive.
The number of drive-in theaters still in business today is a mere fraction of the vast army of screens that once dotted the landscape. I guess their scarcity has made them popular again, and the night we went, the place was jammed. We had to park in literally the last row. Maybe that spurs saucy thoughts in your head (“Oooh! The last row of the drive-in! Hubba-hubba!”). Actually, I got to thinking those kind of thoughts too, but every time I tried snuggling up to my wife, I was greeted with a swift Slappey.
Oh, by the way, the movie we saw was “Shrek the Third.” And everybody really enjoyed it, mainly because it has several scenes that are especially wet, sloppy and goobery. Just like my pillow and blanket, after the kids spilled their treats everywhere.
# # #
TakeFiveT5@yahoo.com
posted by Don Stuart at 1:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home