#30daychallenge; Fall, Drive-In Memories

It’s Friday night. For many, it is the weekend. For others just, another workday. As a retired person, Friday night still has meaning Although the meaning has transformed over the years. Today, we say Happy Friday upon waking up and decide what this Friday night’s supper will be. Friday is when we let pizza or burger enter the menu.

However, many years back, Friday night meant, if it was a pay week, I had a few bucks in my pocket, at least enough for a tank of cash, and the price of admission for two to the drive-in theatre. Snacks are a must for a drive-in is simply not a drive-in without food.

The drive-in provided the privacy of being in your own space with your companion which was very important when you were still living at home with mom and dad and had little personal space.

When I was in my early 20s in southern Ontario, there were 2 drive-in theatres within a 30-minute drive of where I lived.
One was only 10 minutes away but it was finally closed as the new Toronto Airport, now known as Pearson international Airport grew. I remember planes flying so low, the drive-in was on a flight path that they seemed to almost touch the screen. The sound drowned the audio for a few minutes.

That theatre closed and we travelled a bit further to the next one. It was at that time we discovered a third drive-in about an hour away from home which we visited less often.

At least, we still had a choice although what was playing was often a secondary concern. There were double bills and some Friday nights they would have a triple bill, three movies for the price of admission and the snack stand stayed open later.

The food, a foot-long hot dog, a hamburger, fries and a large coke that was the regular fare. If I had of known then what I know now I may have not eaten so much, but then that was half the fun.

In order to avoid standing in line for too long, I’d leave the car about 10 minutes before the picture ended, get the food and be back before the break between flicks. I could watch the film as I walked to the stand.

We often went with another couple but in separate cars. Often we’d get there early so that we could park close to the snack stand but not so close that there was a regular stream of people walking by or the intrusion of the bright lights on the stand.

I also got quite good and getting out of the theatre before the lien up got too long and you sat and sat in your car waiting to exit.

The weather sometimes worked against us. One evening we had gone to see Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark and about 30 minutes into the film the fog rolled in so heavy that you could not see the screen. We sat there waiting for it to lift but no luck. It was a challenge to navigate our way out of the drive-in and find the way back home but we were young and it was all an adventure. We went back the following weekend and saw the film.

The drive-in was where I began a long-standing relationship with Dr Who. The first movies on this particular night were Dr Who and the Dalecks with Peter Cushing. It was low budget quirky but struck home and I enjoyed the TV series for a number of years.

I do not miss the drive-in today, mostly because I do not drive or own a car, but still look back on those days with fiod memories.