Car Keys
by R. Craig

 As part of the job I now do, I sometimes have to fill construction equipment with 
fuel at the job site. The other day I was at a site near the Broome County Airport filling up an old fuel truck tanker that is used  to store diesel fuel. I have to stand on top of the tank to fill it. While I was up there waiting for it to fill, I looked around and realized I was at the site of the old "Airport Drive-in." Of course that made my mind start remembering the times I used to go there. A lot of the little things that I had forgotten  came back to me. 

 For example, when you were parked and someone drove in with their headlights on, the other cars would start with the horns to let that person know they did not appreciate the lights being on. If you went to the concession stand to get something to eat or drink, it was a pain in the neck to get the speaker off of the drivers side window to get out of the car. The food was quite bland and expensive so I usually stocked up at "Carrolls" before I went there. Then after you finally got settled in and comfortable, it seems like someone always had to go to the rest room. And of course the line was always long. 

 The cars I drove were usually a bit loud and after sitting there for awhile it would start to get chilly and the windows would fog up so I had to start the car to warm things up and if it was too loud, it didn't set well with the other movie goers so the warm ups were brief. And then there was the rowdy bunch in the back row. They would be hooting and hollering and having a good old time, sometimes offering their opinion about the movie with their own "subtitles" so to speak. At times they were more entertaining than the movie itself. 

 As usual  I had a particular memory that stood out. I was watching a movie that was quite boring and I fell asleep. I must have left something on in the car because when I woke up at four in the morning, my battery was dead. I had to call a buddy to come all the way up there from Apalachin to give me a jump start. He called me a few names that I can't repeat here. 

 There was another time when me and a friend wanted to go but had no money so another friend offered to smuggle us in, stuffed in the trunk of his car. That was bad enough but the car was a 1965 Barracuda with the trunk that was the size of a glove box. At any rate, we had a good time and that's all we cared about. 

 We also used to go to the "V" Drive-in in Vestal. For those who do not remember it, the Town Square Mall now occupies that spot. I remember how the line to get in used to stretch up the parkway past the Rano Boulevard red light on Friday and Saturday nights. Whenever we went there, it was always necessary to stop at "Lums" for a snack before we went home. 

 I do not understand why drive-in theaters became extinct. If they were still here, I would still go. I know you can rent the movie and watch it in the comfort of your home, but where's the adventure in that? We live in "convenience" society. That's kind of a shame in some ways. I guess it's true when they say "you don't know what you've got until its gone." I miss those days when life was a bit more carefree. I guess every generation can reflect on their own memories.

 I can honestly say that if I could live it all over again, I would not change a thing. They really were "the good old days."