There’s nothing like a cool night, a warm date, a cold drink, and a hot dog at a drive-in movie.
Quinn Minute by Rix Quinn
It’s sad to read that this sunset entertainment is declining. In the 1960s, there were about 4000 nationwide. Today there are reportedly under 200.
Drive-ins were places that welcomed children (many had playgrounds), several teenagers piled into one car, young romantics, and older people who enjoyed an open-air event.
At our neighborhood drive-in, they sold admission tickets “by the carload.” For $5, teens could bring in as many bodies as they could squeeze into a vehicle. This made the kid who owned a pick-up truck a really popular guy.
But some teen couples – and young adults too – didn’t want company. They wanted darkness and privacy, and they didn’t even care if the car speaker worked.
What about the movies? My favorite drive-in carried mostly older flicks, and ran them as multiple features. These started around sundown, and stayed onscreen until past midnight.
And one evening near Halloween was really special. They showed a triple horror feature of The Birds, King Kong, and Dracula.
They called it “The Birds, The Ape, and the Guy with the Cape.”
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