Saturday, June 10, 2006

Cruising at the drive-in

My first visit to a drive-in movie theatre was in rural New Hampshire....my sister and I heard on the radio that "The Muppet Movie" was playing near to my grandparents' summer cottage, and we somehow managed to convince my parents to celebrate their anniversary by taking us. Though I have no memories of the actual movie, I do remember the after-effects. I was enthralled enough with the options at the snack bar to eat myself into a night of throwing up in the bathroom. That aspect of the experience I would gladly forget; of course it is the one thing I remember! I'm certain I visited drive-in theatres after this first notorious trip, but again, I can't remember a single one. There's a theatre 30-40 minutes from us in Rhode Island, and Matt and I vow every summer to go; every fall we add it back to our "things to do next summer" list.

While exploring the possibility of purchasing a projector and screen, Matt had the fortune of "inheriting" a projector about to be thrown out by the Media Services department at the college where we work. Though poor in daylight (okay....poor in anything but pitch darkness), we settled right into life with a big screen. We are movie watchers, rather than TV; Matt takes managing his Netflix queue as seriously as most take on-line banking. (We would do well to take that a bit more seriously some months....) Many evenings find us snuggling close on the reclining love seat watching the latest recommendation based on a history of obscure independent films. Last night was no exception (and we're all set up for tonight, too!), and when Matt returned from a late night "must have Frostys from Wendys" run, he said, "You know I've thought this before, but being out tonight just proves it--we're nothing more than a drive-in." Our family room has large windows the width of our projection screen, and the sheer curtains apparently ensure our neighbors have full view of the evening's selection. Given that last night we were watching an episode from the final season of Queer as Folk, the highly-graphic and equally controversial program from Showtime, our eighty-year old neighbor, Margaret, must have gotten quite an eyeful.

Ah, life at the drive-in....

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was on Mom's and my 10th anniversary, and was a double feature, the Muppet movie being the feature. And yes trips to the snack bar. Which reminded me of the time when we went to Fenway Park and sat behind home plate...and everything on the menu was taken ..
Drive In theaters are a thing of the past, as are so many things. I recently got rid of my television, and have decided to live simply and spend time reading., books and the newspaper. Thanks for sharing this memory Jennifer. one of those special family times we shared with Mom.. which I recall clearly. How truly blest we are. Your writing paints pictures for me, which I revel in and rejoice in. Thank you.

Kristen said...

We are movie watchers too - although we are switching to watchers of DVD versions of shows we missed on HBO and other channels we don't have. I don't think we have enough time or energy to sit through an entire movie in one setting together anymore. That's a sad statement!

Carmen San Diego said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Carmen San Diego said...

I miss the drive in's. Are there anymore out there? Bythe way I got your blog from This is What I do blog and really enjoyed reading it. I have added you to my favorites list.

Carmen San Diego said...

I miss the drive in's. Are there anymore out there? Bythe way I got your blog from This is What I do blog and really enjoyed reading it. I have added you to my favorites list.

Carmen San Diego said...

I miss the drive in's. Are there anymore out there? Bythe way I got your blog from This is What I do blog and really enjoyed reading it. I have added you to my favorites list.

Carmen San Diego said...

I miss the drive in's. Are there anymore out there? Bythe way I got your blog from This is What I do blog and really enjoyed reading it. I have added you to my favorites list.

Carmen San Diego said...

I miss the drive in's. Are there anymore out there? Bythe way I got your blog from This is What I do blog and really enjoyed reading it. I have added you to my favorites list.

Carmen San Diego said...

I enjoyed your blog. I got your blog off This is What I do. I have added you to my list of favorites. I miss the drive ins. My parents used to take me as a child. I wonderif there is anymore out there.

Carmen San Diego said...

Sorry for all the post. It kept telling me it wasn't posting. Now i see it did a millions times. So sorry.

Carmen

Kara said...

Where is the RI drive-in? We're not far, either...