The Zen Pretzel Trick: August 2016

Sunday, August 28, 2016

In Response AND Silver Linings: Drive-Ins & Their Legacy

I'm SOURCE:

Cracked.com's "6 Reasons Why Drive-In Theaters Are Never Coming Back" by Evan V. Symon:

http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-2371-6-sad-realities-dying-drive-in-movie-business.html

I am a big fan of Cracked magazine's website. I have their app on my iPad, and while it does have room for improvement, it's one of a short list of sites I read regularly as a result of what I call my "Insomnia Internetting." I also frequently view their uploads on YouTube (including a dissection of a "music video" starring the Dreaded Feldman*).

RESPONSE:

This article originally made me quite nostalgic...some of my happiest childhood memories were made at the Dixie Drive-In in Northridge, Ohio.

My dad lived nearby, and both A) loved movies and B) hated indoor theaters. I've seen dozens and dozens of movies with my dad, and not a single one of them were viewed in a Cineplex.

Vivid and precious are my memories of the Dixie, and so very treasured in my heart. As a result, I plan to get a memorial tattoo for my father (who died in 2010), and it is based on the shooting star from the Dixie's iconic mezzanine:

The very first movie I remember seeing was at the Dixie: "Sleeping Beauty." Later, I would see the movie that changed my life there: Disney's "Sword in the Stone."

Reading this article was bittersweet: sweet because of all the cherished movies, and bitter that future generations won't know how wonderful the drive-in theater experience really is.

SILVER LINING:

After that wave of powerful memories with a twinge of regret, I suddenly switched gears entirely: I started laughing.

Why? I realized that, thanks to my electric wheelchair/scooter that I rely on for mobility...every movie I see is a drive-in movie!

And that includes last week's trip with my daughters and their father, making yet another movie memory themselves: "Suicide Squad."

I wonder how they will look back on our favorite theater, the Bagdad, and how different the movie-viewing experience will be when they are making memories with their own children.

I am kind of hoping for a Holodeck-type system...preferably with fewer glitches than the "Next Generation" had to deal with.

I'm sure using the Holodeck won't be cheap, but if I can get a program to take my future grandchildren to experience watching a movie at the Dixie...it would be worth every dime.

I can close my eyes, and picture it so clearly: driving in as the sun goes down ($5 a car, please) on a warm July night, with fireflies dotting the air and the smell of popcorn and hot dogs all around, laying out a picnic blanket, turning on the speaker, and watching a screen as big as a house come to life.