The Drive-In

Decades ago with few dollars to spend

The best thing we did with a gaggle of friends

An affordable way for the family to hang

Doing that thing for your dough’s biggest bang

Was ye ol’ drive-in movie, a cool summer treat

Where the tinny echo and warm bucket seats

And homemade snacks shared front to back

Made up for the quality those movies lacked

Where friends could talk and laugh so freely

When scary parts made tough guys squealy

For no one knew when your buddy might pounce

And jump on your hood to make your car bounce

Where girlfriends and boyfriends picked up by the curb

Made windows fog up, which meant do not disturb

Where waiting for dark made us antsy for fun

Yet often we slept before the movie was done

The drive home was soothing no matter how far

Integral to life was that family car

But soon out of fashion those drive-ins became

And now moviegoing just isn’t the same

The communal experience meant something back then

So today we are left with “remembering when…”

The memories are faded as blank as those screens

But that twinge of nostalgia to me always means

That I live in this world with such strange perspective

It’s not that old tech is defunct and defective

There’s charm and a sweetness we sometimes cling to

An innocent time when we simply made do

Bell-bottoms and drive-ins, they’re not dowdy trends

It’s the love for good movies and hanging with friends

So hang up a sheet and spread out on the lawn

Watch movies outside eating popcorn til dawn

You’ll capture the kitsch we enjoyed long ago

And good vibes and good spirits will be in the front row!