Kind of how I feel about Candy


Have you ever been to a drive-in movie? Well, if you're as old as I am and from the South you just might have. I don't know if it was a big thing in the North? I never got past the Mason Dixon line when I was a kid. It was a favorite thing for our family to do on a Friday night. Mom and Dad would load up the kids, and head out to the movies. We'd usually get there a little before dark and Dad would drive around until he found the perfect spot (usually near the center back). It always seemed to take a little while adjusting the speakers. Sometimes, one wouldn't work and we'd have to crank up the car and find another perfect parking space. We'd settle in...Dad with his cooler of beer and Mom in the front seat. The four of us kids would be scrambling in the back for a good viewing position. It would be hot. Most the time Mother would let us sit outside on the rough gravel just outside the car doors. My little brother would pester my little sister with smooching sounds when the romantic parts were on. War and Western movies, my Dad's favorite, always got little brother using both hands to shoot 'em up.

I don't remember what movies we saw, it was always a double feature. What I do remember was intermission. Oh, yes, intermission. The screen would light up with images of hot dogs prancing on the screen and jumping into buns. Ice cream bars would dance across the big screen in Rockette style. Candy and popcorn popping out of a large box all designed to tempt the crowd. It would drive us kids into a frenzy of begging to "Please, please, let us go get something from the snack bar." My Mom would usually relent and off we'd go. Of course, the stuff was always overpriced and didn't look just like the pictures on the screen. But what a treat.

Later when I became a teenager, a bunch of us would pile into an old jalopy and "cruise" the drive-in. It was such fun...seeing and being seen. Flirting with the boys. Of course, if we were with a date we'd always get them to make a snack bar run at intermission. The snack bar was where IT was "happening".

I grew up and when my own family was young we loaded up the five kids, lawn chairs, cooler and off we'd go. My kids would do the same at intermission as I had done, and I gave in.

You know, we don't have drive-in movies in our part of the country anymore. I'm not sure if you can find them anywhere. I kind of miss them on a hot summer night.

I do love taking my grandkids and great-grandkids to the inside movies. They still beg for popcorn and candy before the movie begins. It's still way over priced and never looks as good as the pictures.

But I give in, my joy is treating them.

How about you? Do you have fond memories of summer nights?