Drive-ins during Covid are not such a bad idea

My first memory of going to a drive-in involved me hiding on the floor of my father’s Ford Falcon under my mother’s feet, covered in a blanket.

I cannot recall where my sister, three years my senior, was hidden, but my father was a genius when it came to smuggling us into the movies. It wouldn’t surprise me if he used his secret petrol-smuggling compartment in the boot to hide his daughter.

Those were the days when there were petrol curfews, with filling stations only allowed to operate in daylight hours. But that’s a story for another day.

Mom and dad always said they could only afford to take us the movies if they didn’t have to pay for us. I, however, suspect it was because people with children in the car had to leave after the first
movie was screened.

The second movie was often one with an age restriction. Back then, the best part of going to the drive-in was the cafeteria. Nothing in the world could beat a drive-in burger.

In my Matric year, I was again a frequent visitor to the drive-ins, but this time round I was in the driver’s seat. The Ford Falcon had made way for a Ford Cortina bakkie, which I was allowed to borrow on Fridays.

The ritual of picking up classmates started early evening and we were often the first in the drive-in, as well as the last to leave. With mattresses, blankets and pillows, we had the time of our lives camping out in front of the giant screen, eating burgers.

A decade or two later, most drive-ins had made way for townhouses. In fact, I don’t think there’s a single drive-in still operational in Gauteng.

Last week, a local restaurant here on the West Rand converted their parking lot into a pop-up drive-in.

In these Covid times, when all restaurants are in a war for survival, it seems that doing things the way we did half a century ago, is not such a bad idea.

Watching a movie from the comfort of your safe, isolated bubble while still “going out” is better than house arrest.

Perhaps the big movie houses should take note.