Bob's Corner
From our weekly issue dated May 20, 2009
Being a young guy (many years ago) and intrigued with the hunks of metal on tires propelled by internal combustion engines, I’ve spent a lot of time behind the steering wheels of various vehicles. And during 50 years of steering (legally) I’ve seen some changes and some odd situations in connection with horseless carriages.
There have been some fads: dual exhaust pipes with noise-making mufflers, headers, dual radio antennas, chrome spotlights, curb feelers, cars “on a rake” (lowered in front), cars lowered in front, cars lowered all the way around. Not to mention the fins and overdone chrome on cars during the late 1950s and into the ‘60s. And let’s not forget the steering wheel knobs to assist with turning, and fuzzy dice dangling from rear-view mirrors.
When I began driving (legally), drive-in theaters and drive-in restaurants were all the rage. Many of us spent numerous nights “cruising” drive-in restaurants. Sometimes we’d even stop and order from a car hop or via a speaker, and a car hop would bring the order. There was more than one place whose car hops wore roller-skates.
As the years have filed past, it seems that what’s available from drive-ups and drive-throughs is continuing. If memory serves, Jack in the Box was the first drive-up eatery, so there is no need for a car hop. Many other cafes have followed that idea. Banks now offer drive-up windows. They’re often used by people who should go inside because of the complexity of their transactions, but that’s just a personal gripe.
When we lived in Escondido, Calif., there was drive-in church. It looked like a drive-in theater, but instead of a screen, there was a pulpit. The pastor’s voice came into each vehicle through individual speakers hanging inside each car, just like a drive-in theater. Ushers came to each vehicle when the donation basket was passed. I always wondered if attendees just put a shirt or jacket over their pajamas.
I’ve seen drive-up dairy stores. Get your milk and eggs on the run. Somewhere there was a drive-up funeral parlor. Really; I saw the photos. The dear departed were in a display window, and the mourners drove past to pay their respects.
Our civilization also offers drive-up dry cleaners, and drive-through car washes. In some states there are drive-up liquor stores. There are drive-up coffee stands, drive-up doughnut stores; drive-through businesses for having car oil changes and other maintenance tasks. There was a story out of Seattle several years ago about an intoxicated guy who ordered a burger and fries at a drive-up window. Only he wasn’t at a restaurant, but a drive-up window at a police station for paying traffic fines. He didn’t get his food.
Of all the drive-in or -up businesses, the one I miss most has to be the drive-in theater. You could take off your shoes and put your legs up. You could bring your own refreshments. You could share time with your buddies or a loved one. But drive-in theaters, along with car hops, have roller-skated into the past.
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