Sandy Supposes....

Silent Movie

BANANA BAR MAY 21st PROMPT DRIVE-IN SERIES: Any additional visits to the drive-in after your first experience?

         

         

         

         Short answer, yes. After my first experience with a drive-in I continued to visit. Why not? Two movies for the cost of one in a theatre? Sit in my own vehicle with the freedom to stretch my legs? Attend with company/other people if in the mood? Bring my own snacks if I so choose? Natter and comment without disturbing other movie patrons?

         At one time in the recent past drive-ins existed in many towns/cities. On a whim, I could travel to whichever one appealed to me with its showings. My hometown boasted one drive-in, The Sunset. Two more awaited my perusal within a short road trip excursion distance.

         Oh, did I mention my brother and I learned to drive at The Sunset? Our family called a large land yacht,an Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, our official transporter. Mark and I spent one summer season picking up the garbage that predictably accumulated at the site. Hey, it was a paying job. Together we developed a feel for that car and tested its manoeuverability/ turning radius weaving in and out between the numerous speaker poles. No one interrupted us as we 'worked' at our own pace. Did we kick up dust? Maybe. Did we squeal the tires? Maybe. Did we dent the car? Why no, never.

         Hubby and I were once newlyweds and as such we decided one Saturday evening to explore. Jumping in our vehicle we headed out of town in search of a new-to-us drive-in. Our foray took us about an hour from home.

         As the sun began its blazing descent we pulled into a parking spot next to a speaker perched atop a metal pole. The driver-side window was lowered and hubby pulled in the speaker. He clipped it to the door. He fiddled with a knob. No sound. He jiggled the wires. No sound. He picked up the mute speaker and shook it. No sound.

         With a shrug, Paul balanced that faulty speaker back atop its pole. He restarted the car, reversed and angled for a different spot. After all the re-settling moves, he once again reached for a speaker. In a deja-vu moment, he wrestled with a second uncooperative piece of junk. Despite his best efforts no sound emanated from this speaker either. Bright lights flashed across the screen. Figures jumped. Vehicles sped along a highway. The actors gesticulated and their mouths moved as if miming speech. We heard nothing; no dialogue, no background, mood-setting music,no blare of car horns or rumbling exhausts. We glanced around and noticed other patrons tapping and shaking their speakers.

         One by one, irate, I assume, customers threw speakers out their windows and screeched away in clouds of dust. Ah, so, no on was wired for sound.

         Just for giggles, hubby and I stayed put. We amused ourselves by inventing our own dialogue. We attempted lip-reading. Anyway, the silent movie we viewed up on the big screen featured two well known actors/comedians, Cheech and Chong. Up In Smoke proved to be just that.