Thursday's Thoughts

From an image search for Graham Drive-In

• We went to Graham Drive-In last night (09012013). What a simple- great time we miss when we forget about the drive-in. Soon, all the remaining holdouts will have to buy an expensive digital projector. My guess is at least 25% of the 400+ remaining theaters will go out of business. My guess also is that is an optimistic guess.
• Their FM  transmitter is unusually powerful. As we were leaving, we heard nearly all of a bonus scene that played after the credits and were several blocks away before we lost the signal.
• If you go park on the number two row- it is close but but not so close the ribs on the screen are visibly obnoxious.
• They have cool T shirts.
  
• A really good and useful idea for a reality show would be a group of people who go around and rescue drive ins- show them how to advertise, make cool snack bar specials, fix the places up etc.
• Decatur's drive-in showed pr@n at midnight. There was more family friendly fare earlier then the aforementioned entertainment came at midnight to give little eyes time to be asleep. The projector operator was famous for spanking his monkey during the flick. I always thought that was a small town urban legend but I know a Decatur cop personally who will tell you he randomly caught him once and was asked another time to go make him stop.
• My earliest drive-in movies I recall well were Funny Car Summer and The Legend Of Boggy Creek. I fell asleep on my buddy's shoulder during Funny Car Summer. 
• I remember Gary Hudson pulling some kids out of the trunk of a car in front of us while going there with my parents. When dad told me another time we couldn't go because of money I told him he could hide us in the trunk and we would be quiet. It just occurred to me- how did they get caught? They were in the line to go in- they weren't spotted piling out of the trunk once they were in.
• Gary was called Rock Hudson.
• Later in life I learned before the movie started you could cross the fence and place all the speakers on the back row on max volume. Then you sat on the hill off the property and watched the show.
  
• At Fort Hood once we signed out a 5 ton truck and packed something like 40 guys in there and got into the show in Gatesville on 5 dollar a car load night. I know we got the entire scout and mortar platoons with some headquarters types thrown in.