Ahh, the drive-in, we hardly knew ye

There's something magical about being in the exact right place at the exact right time. We, as humans, describe this phenomenon as being everything from a noteworthy coincidence to evidence of God's handiwork. I'm not sure which of those two to ascribe it to, but those are the kind of moments that lit the spark to my life-long love of the drive-in.

Back in the 80s, there were more drive-ins than there are now (although the institution as a whole was well on its way to the lingering death that's happening to it today). Occasionally, you would be driving by one and have a clear view of the screen when whatever B movie they were playing had its obligatory nude scene. Nudity, along with other types of sleaziness have permeated our modern culture, so you might think "so what?". But back then, it was a different era, and to a 12 year old boy without cable, any glimpse of boobity was FREAKING AWESOME!

Unlike a lot of other people, I have no fond memories of sitting in the family car in pajamas with mom and dad watching movies in all of their outdoor glory. The fact is, I never actually saw a movie at one until I was about 20 or so, and when I did go that first time, it was with an evenly mixed group of males and females and about two cases of beer. The crush I had on the blond I was with fizzled shortly thereafter that night, but I am, however, still deeply in love with beer.

Over the years, I saw movies at several different drive-ins, and I always enjoyed the unique atmosphere that they provided; half of the cars usually had families in them and the other half had couples on dates, so there was always a weird mix of family values and sinfulness occurring in the same area.

But alas, everything changes and sometimes it just goes away (the Mission 4, San Antonio's last drive-in, was recently vandalized to the point where repair costs will likely see it shut down). Like large sailing ships, live theater, and cowboys, the drive-in will never vanish entirely, but the time in which it was an active part of culture is gone forever. And that's a shame.