When was the last time you went to a drive- in movie?
I’ll bet that question just opened a flood gate of memories for many of you.
From dating years to dragging the kids along, the drive-in movie was always an adventure.
Some good folks trekked out to the Twilight Drive-in in Aldergrove last weekend for a fundraiser for the Ron Dunkley Society and Honour House.
The theme was Happy Days are Here Again, and many people came dressed in the ’50s and ’60s styles — frilly dresses, tight blue jeans, duck tail hair styles and at least one full-fledged Elvis.
The day was perfect and that brought out a few classic cars and hot rods that haven’t been tucked away for the winter yet and the classic rock band, Liquid Courage, provided the musical memories.
The organizers had even arranged a total eclipse of the moon for just before the movie started.
There were prizes for the best Lucy, Marilyn, Elvis, James Dean and the Fonz. The judges had a hard time and the Fonz winner was surprised because he told us he wasn’t in costume, that’s the way he always dresses.
The winners of the twist contest confide they’ve been doing that as a couple since 1954 and the limbo winner impresses everyone — we don’t even need the chiropractor we had standing by. The couple that won the twist contest looked like they could go all night.
As the crowd grows, the old stories surface and everyone has at least one drive-in memory.
Maybe it was being smuggled in, hidden in the trunk of a ’54 Chevy or, as the old song says,’ there was more kissin’ in the cars than on the screen.’
I can remember going to the old Hillcrest Drive-in and jockeying for position to get close enough to a speaker only to find that when you hung it on your window it wasn’t working.
This particular weekend, a lot of Baby Boomers are surprised that there are no speakers, you just turn your car radio to 106.9 FM and the sound booms out of your car radio.
But, if your 1949 Ford truck only has an 8-track, you have to find a vehicle with an open seat.
As it gets dark I see some kids running around in pjs and Moms setting up the blankets and pillows, hoping that they will go to sleep.
I can recall my kids just dozing off when ‘Intermission‘ would flash on the screen and an animated hot dog being chased by a ketchup container would start singing, ‘Let’s all go to the snack bar, let’s all go to the snack bar.’
The kids would be wide awake and Dad would end up in line for hot dogs, popcorn, sodas or ice cream bars.
But as busy and noisy as it was, we were all together as a family and we need to do more of that.
As the shadow covers the moon it gets dark and the horns start to honk. We want the movie now.
The two timeless movies on tap for tonight are Back to the Beach with Frankie and Annette and Rebel without a Cause with James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. How’s that for some classic name dropping?
The most frequent comment we hear all night is “We should do this more often.”
Let’s all go to the drive-in.
At least, that’s what McGregor says.