Summer nights and drive in movies

Do you remember the days when drive-in movies made summer nights a favorite?

We sat in our cars with all the windows down, or if you were lucky enough to have a convertible, with the top down. We had a yellow 1948 Buick with red leather seats and a black 'ragtop.'

It was a good chance to exchange snappy comments and wisecracks with the occupants of the adjoining car. And when the action on the screen slowed down, it could be a good time to exchange a discreet kiss or two in your own car, even with two small boys in the back seat - their eyes fastened on the big screen.

We never went near the crowded snack bar, because we had snacks we brought from home in a cooler - who needs gargantuan bags of stale popcorn!

Those days may be long gone, but not in our memories. That brings to mind the words of that old song, "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end..."

Okay, don't be greedy, we had our turn.

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After a long, hot summer, replete with jazz, bluegrass, and country music, are you ready for some music from such masters as Chopin, Bach, Beethoven et al? Well, here is an opportunity to hear this great music played by an award-winning concert pianist.

At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, September 30th at the Ashmore Auditorium at Pensacola Junior College, Dr. Robert Holm will give a free concert. Isn't it about time for you to enjoy what piano music is all about? Don't miss this opportunity! Contact PJC at 484-1847 for more information.

The other day I stopped to say hello to a seven-year-old who was riding his tricycle in his driveway as I walked by. I see him pretty often, as he and several older girls sometimes stop by my house to see what candy and cookies I might find lurking in my refrigerator.

He was in a sad and serious mood as he told me that he was not permitted to place a cereal box on the breakfast table. He shook his head and said, "My mother says that boxes on the table look sloppy. If I want more cereal, I have to go back in the kitchen to get it." He was surprised to hear that I didn't let my kids do that, and that my own mother had not allowed it either.

Actually, in my day, breakfast cereal was slow-cooked oatmeal made from scratch, not zapped instantly in a microwave. I never saw the box.

I still remember my mother's standard phrase whenever we did something of which she did not approve. "In our family," she would say,

we don't do that."

I didn't know what kind of people did 'do that,' whatever it was, and I guess I never found out.

I think it's nice that we mothers still have our standards, and that a seven-year-old and I can still have something in common.

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To close this week, let me leave you with some unanswered questions that may puzzle you as much as they do me -

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

See you next week.