As we grow older and wiser in life, and responsibility becomes a heavy burden; many times we relieve that burden with memories of another era. Periods where life was much simpler; where every day was like a stroll through Disneyland. The Drive-In theatre is that special memory in this writer's life. A magical time surrounded by the mystique of becoming a young man whose hormones evaluated every female with anticipation regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin. A devout search for an identity, for a purpose in life itself. A quest for an ideal mate to service a primordial drive rather than become a lifelong companion. Where by intention one would act a fool just to gain the favor of a single female who happened to pass his way. Where music, friends, and girls captivated every thought.
Glen became that special friend during those years to Mike and I. He became the measuring stick that defined what a true friend really was.
First to get a job at a nearby drive-in, he quickly opened the door for us to follow. It was there John joined our select group and began to contribute to many of the escapades that would follow.
The drive-in theatre was shaped like a huge baseball diamond where the screen became home plate and the entrance lane the path to first base. Second base was the fast track to the back rows where car windows fogged throughout most of the movies. The exit lanes were the third base area and smack in the center of all this was the pitchers mound-- the concession stand!
The concession stand contained the restrooms, the food and drinks, an outdoor sitting area to watch the movies and the projection booth where the projectionist would be caught off guard and page Jack Meoff to the booth. Where local rock & roll groups entertained us before showtime with twangy, guitar sounds piped through crackly in-car speakers. Where the music was so bad you would find yourself humming to one tune while your date sang to another. Where you actually turned the volume down, rather than up. But going to the Drive-In was the major event of the week-end. Imagine That!
There were so many firsts that occurred at the drive-in I could never begin to describe them all. But it was there I picked up my first girl-- received my first kiss from a girl who taught me how the French did it-- heard my first cherry bomb explode while being flushed down a toilet and saw my first flood on the patio from the results of that explosion,-- rescued my first drunken girl from the interior of the women's restroom and convinced her to raise her underwear before she went outside. :-) The first time I busted the rear side window from my Dad's Edsel as I forgot to remove the speaker before I left for the evening; then dreamed up the biggest lie I could conjure to explain it-- for getting my face slapped accidentally as I allowed my hands and fingers to do the walking like the telephone ads of the time period suggested. My first time to go on a double date and wonder what the girls in the car discussed while the guys left for the concession stand at intermission-- only to have them depart for the restroom when we returned. And that my friends is the subject of this escapade.
Of all the firsts that occurred during the drive-in years, discovering what girls talked about during private moments was the most creative! For my birthday that year, my gift was a portable tape recorder that ran on two 9 volt batteries. Smaller than a shoebox, the spools were about 3 inches wide and would record 15 minutes on each side before running out. The hand microphone attached via a cord to the front and would stretch about 3 feet. It was too big to conceal but very light and we had a great time making funny noises and listening to ourselves talk. Made of hard plastic it turned out to become the best gift I ever received. I never realized its full potential until Glen and I discussed a double date we had been on. The two girls we dated were friends and several times throughout the night would make a odd sound and begin to snicker. That really bothered me. As if struck by a bolt of lightning, I had this devilish idea. When Glen heard it he grinned from ear to ear and said "Lets do it!"
Glen's car was a 1956 white Chevrolet with a manual 3 speed on the column and a double set of rear speakers below the back window. A six cylinder, sometimes hitting on all six cylinders, other times only 5. But it was wheels and drove us where we wanted. Glen picked me up several hours before our next double date and off to the local Zayre discount store we ventured. Glen went inside and bought two 9 volt batteries for the tape recorder, and a cheap .50 cent Styrofoam cooler to put sodas and ice in. We placed the cooler in the trunk, and laid the tape recorder behind it and taped the microphone to the speaker cone near the far right corner. After the recording tape was carefully rewound and voice tested several times, we closed the trunk lid and hurried to pick up our dates.
This time several comments between Glen and I were followed by snickers from us rather than the girls. But extremely careful not to let our secret out we parked in the last row of the Drive-in and the girls immediately went on the defensive. I believe it caught them off guard. Glen came up with the line the speakers were used less frequently back there and would be sharper and clearer. The one item in our plan I overlooked and did not anticipate.
We waited forever for darkness to arrive and the first movie to begin. Not much happened with my date during it, and I found out later nothing at all happened with Glen's. I did manage however to get a few cautious kisses and some gentle, casual strokes on her opposite arm. Dreadfully close to her mountainous area, I could not muster the courage to initiate those hormonal impulses which were on a rampage. By intermission, my left arm felt like a pin cushion with a million needles stuck in it. Draped across her shoulders for 90 minutes, I refused to take a chance on loosing conquered ground. It was worth the pain.
At Intermission, we placed our plan into action.
"What do you girls want from the concession" Glen asked as his prepracticed dialogue was delivered like a professional Actor.
"We've got soda on ice in the trunk" I said "What would you two like?"
"A coke" Glens date said.
"That'll be fine" mine repeated.
"You girls make yourself comfortable and we'll get the sodas" I replied as we quickly exited the car.
And with that we stepped to the trunk and removed two cokes from the cooler. We carefully checked the microphone one last time to ensure it was still securely taped to the back speaker cone; I flipped the switch to record and gently closed the lid. We handed the girls their drinks and headed for the concession stand as we walked along much slower than usual. I prayed the foodline would be a mile long. It wasn't! So we spent 5 minutes or more on the patio as we watched the intermission screen and the bun trying to convince the hot dog to jump inside--talk about subliminal advertising! But we wanted to give the girls plenty of time to have their discussion; the cheeseburgers and popcorn were cold by the time we arrived back at the car. The girls did their anticipated routine and left for the restroom as soon as we returned. Once out of sight, Glen and I leaped from the car, opened the trunk and rewound the tape which seemed to take an eternity.
My question was answered shortly in more detail than I ever imagined. And "YES" they do talk about the same things as guys. Both Glen and I hit homers during the second flick. We knew exactly how far to go-- when to stop-- and what each gal really liked. My date thought I was the most intuitive person she ever met. She commented several times She thought I was a mindreader! We never saw many featured movies after that unless we heard something on the recorder that scared us, and occasionally it did! But that is the subject of another escapade. We utilized our prized recorder until it finally broke several years later and could not be replaced or fixed....But We never told anyone about our secret until now....Oh, and by the way, "things do go better with coke!"