While preparing to (hopefully) make a return trip to Pennsylvania for the 2011 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama, I got to thinking about another drive-in related event (or at least semi-related) from a couple years ago. In September of 2009 I turned...FORTY-YEARS-OLD! Yep, I suddenly went from being a young adult to middle-aged seemingly overnight. As the dreaded event was looming I kind of wanted to do something special--something beyond just another standard birthday party. I'd heard about the phenomenon of backyard drive-ins, where people would set up their own system for projecting movies onto a big screen in their own backyard. It sounded very cool to say the least and got me thinking about the prospects of entering the hobby myself. We don't have a very large backyard, and there isn't a lot of "extra" money floating around at the moment to purchase a nice DVD projector. Not only that, but I'm not exactly handy when it comes to designing and building major things around the house. It seemed like the Backyard Drive-In dream would have to remain just a dream for the foreseeable future...
The Wife and I both thought about the possibility of trying to pull off a backyard drive-in event as part of the 40th Birthday celebration. She had access to a video projector through work (though I had no idea how to set up a sound system for it that would be heard by a crowd outside rather than using the little speaker on the projector itself). I was going to attach a white sheet to the side of our garage for the screen. It was pretty exciting to think about actually pulling this thing off. I was sort of thinking of it as being a chance to see if it was worth investing the time, resources and money into a "real" backyard drive-in project. It was going to be a test run of sorts to see how realistic the idea was.
Then a friend of ours made us aware of a company called Jericho Entertainment. This was a local company which arranged and ran backyard drive-in events for people (among other party activities and DJ services). They had a lot of different options and ideas and we decided to try them out. It was a bit more expensive than what we were planning on doing ourselves, but it also turned out to be a WHOLE LOT better than anything we could have done ourselves! It was worth the money to really do it right.
The first step was to have the Jericho Entertainment people stop by to check out the backyard and then to decide on how we wanted everything to be. They had an inflatable screen available, but I chose the one that had a PVC pipe frame (I believe it was 12 feet across). It looked a lot more like a real drive-in screen to me than those inflatable ones. The movie choice was an easy one..."Star Wars" (1977). True, I could call the film "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope", but to me it's just plain old "Star Wars"--just like it was in 1977.
Not only is "Star Wars" (of course) one of my all-time favorites, and a safe choice for both the adults and the children who would be attending the party, but also a movie I have fond memories of seeing at our local drive-in when I was a young lad. There are a lot of movies that I love and would love to see on a backyard drive-in screen, but this really was a no-brainer and an easy decision to make. My only real regret from the night was that I didn't think to ask them to run the original, non-Special Edition version of the movie (the version I had seen as a kid). As the date of the party/backyard drive-in night approached I did a little research to find out just when my childhood local drive-in ran "Star Wars". Since the movie was released in May of 1977 I figured that it must have hit the drive-ins that summer. Well, I couldn't find ANY listings for it playing at my hometown drive-in for that entire summer season. I was starting to doubt my own memory of lying in the back of my father's van watching "Star Wars" and playing with my C-3PO an R2-D2 action figures. Then I decided to check out the listings for the following summer (1978). Wouldn't you know, there it was. I never realized that "Star Wars" was re-released in July of 1978 (most likely as a way to get it into all the drive-ins that missed it the first time around). It just goes to show how huge a thing "Star Wars" was that it was re-released only one year after it first came out (and was then re-released once again in the summer of 1979!).
Here's the fruit of my researching labor. This ad from the Quaker Drive-In (Uxbridge, MA) from July 14, 1978 announces that the next feature would be "Star Wars"
And this ad is from the start of the "Star Wars" run on July 21, 1978. While I can't pinpoint exactly when I saw it, at least I know it was on or after this date.
Back to the story... On the night of the party the Jericho Entertainment people arrived early to set up the screen and the video/audio equipment. Then they ran the whole show once it got dark enough (yet another thing that we didn't have to worry about ourselves--making it even more worth the money spent). We had also elected to go with the deluxe package, which included a popcorn machine and root beer on tap (both of which were manned by Jericho staff). It was another nice touch that added a lot to the night. The Wife had also bought a whole bunch of movie-type candy which was set up on a table for people to help themselves to. We were very happy to have a nice turnout of family and friends attend our little show/party. We had invited most of the people in the neighborhood as well. While not many of them showed up, we were glad that we at least invited them--as the sound system was very impressive and you could hear the sounds of "Star Wars" blaring all around the block (and even further). It would have been interesting to have the police show up to investigate a noise disturbance complaint and have that "noise" be "Star Wars" rather than loud rock music. Luckily that didn't happen.
Finally the sky was darkening and it was time to start the show. After a few drive-in intermission ads from a DVD I own and a little welcome announcement from The Wife it was time for the Feature Presentation. How wonderful it was to be sitting in my own backyard, surrounded by family and friends, as the opening notes of John Williams' soundtrack of "Star Wars" filled the cool evening air. About halfway through the movie we had a little "intermission" to do the whole cake-and-presents birthday thing, then settled back in to watch the rest of the movie. It was a very special night for me, and a great way to leave the Thirties and enter the Forties.
Here are some photos from The Oak Street Drive-In's September 2009 presentation of "Star Wars":
Our humble little backyard before the party
Set-up of equipment and construction of the screen underway
Screen is ready to go and sound is being set up as the crowd gathers
As an added touch I put out my old Quaker Drive-In speaker. Yes, it's from the VERY SAME Quaker Drive-In where I saw "Star Wars" all those years ago!
Some of the tempting candy treats available to our patrons
Jericho Entertainment personnel manning the popcorn machine and root beer tap
One party guest went WAY overboard with generosity and got me this huge Millennium Falcon. It's practically as big as The Little Monster!
The Little Monster, all ready for "Star Wars"!
You can't have a drive-in experience without PIC!
The crowd anxiously awaits the feature presentation...
Here's some early action from "Star Wars"--as seen in our very own backyard!
Darth Vader makes his first appearance on our big backyard screen
The Little Monster and I settle in for some "Star Wars" fun!
It was a great night, and a grand time was had by all! ...At least I hope so anyway.
Here's just a little bit of video I got from the night to give you an idea of what it was like:
We were considering having another backyard drive-in night this summer or early fall (2011), but it doesn't look like it's going to happen at this point. If we ever do manage to get our act together and have another one, I'll probably end up writing about that one too.
Thank you for reading, and please remember to return your speaker to the pole before you drive off!
Listening to Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" recently got me to remembering a long ago event that I thought I'd share. Every time I hear this song I think of this memory--which has nothing to do with the song besides the fact that it was from the time that "Radio Ga Ga" was a hit song. This fact also helps me to date the memory to approximately spring of 1984 (the song was released in January of 1984 and would have been in heavy rotation by spring). It's interesting how something like a song or a particular scent can bring back a memory from long ago...
I would have been a freshman in high school in the spring of 1984. My father and I didn't do a lot of things together as father and son. He and my mother were big fans of flea markets and yard sales. They used to set up regularly at flea markets as a hobby and a way to make some extra cash on the weekend. When they weren't at flea markets selling their stuff, they would visit the various flea markets in the area. This one particular Sunday my mom must have been feeling under the weather. Dad took me to a flea market that day while she stayed home. I enjoyed it, though I don't recall finding or purchasing anything too memorable. It's just fun going and seeing what kind of stuff people will put out for sale--searching for that little gem mixed in with all the stones. After more than 25 years it seems understandable that I don't recall much specific about the wares for sale that day. One thing I do recall was that this trip took place during the time that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album was still a huge hit (and that was a long stretch of time indeed). There were various cheap Michael Jackson knockoff products for sale along with the usual assortment of used items from people's houses and stuff like that.
So what does all this have to do with "Radio Ga Ga" and my Dad saving a bully's life? Well, nothing--but that part is coming up. After our visit to the flea market Dad and I got back in the car and headed back home. We were coming up to the top of the hill that our street was on and nearly home. There on the side of the road was a prone body lying on the ground with a female standing over it. The seemingly-lifeless body belonged to a member of my class who had taken a life-track that led to him becoming a bully and general trouble-maker. I actually remember being friends with this individual when we were very little, before our lives started to diverge into very different directions. Dad stopped to ask if everything was okay. The girl responded that everything was fine, but obviously it wasn't. Dad drove me the rest of the way up to the end of the street and dropped me off at home, then went back down the street. I went inside with a feeling of unease, not knowing if this person I knew was even alive or not. I went inside, turned on the TV and tried to pretend that everything was normal. I'm pretty sure that I either saw the video for "Radio Ga Ga" or heard it on the radio at this time (and thus the reason the song and this event are eternally connected in my mind).
Dad came home much later to report that he brought the bully (against his girlfriend's wishes) to the hospital. I'm not sure if it was drugs or alcohol, but he had overdosed on something, and he had to have his stomach pumped. Apparently he was going to pull through and be "okay". He did indeed return to school--at least long enough to drop out and go onto whatever he's doing today. I've always wondered if he had any idea that my Dad may very well have saved his life that day. Probably not. It's a shame he couldn't have taken advantage of that second chance to straighten himself out or something (or who knows, maybe he eventually did). It all just goes to show how much different the lives of two people can be. We had grown up in the same town, but because of various personal circumstances and choices we had become very different people. While I was being taken to a flea market by my father he was out drinking or shooting up on a Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Bully, if by some incredible coincidence you ever happen to read this blog and recognize yourself, I'd like to make you aware of something. Do you remember waking up in a hospital after being unconscious and having your stomach pumped? Do you know how it is that you ended up at the hospital? I just wanted to let you know that my Dad took it upon himself to bring you there that day. I don't know for sure that he saved your life. Perhaps you could have just slept it off on the side of the road. Perhaps someone else would have come along and brought you to the hospital or called an ambulance (though this did happen on a dead end street which didn't get much traffic). Perhaps your female companion would have finally decided that the situation was serious and taken the initiative to do something herself. I really can't say--but I can say that my Dad did take action that day which may very well have saved your life. Dad died three months ago and I can't help but think that your life and everything you've done since that day in 1984 is in some small way a part of my father's legacy. While a lot of time has passed and I have no idea where you are today or what you are doing, I just thought you should know what happened that day so long ago while "Radio Ga Ga" was playing...
Last year I wrote a blog entry here called TV Guide Time Machine, which detailed just how fascinating I find old TV Guides from the 1970s and 80s. Pretty strange, huh? Well, not nearly as strange as THIS... I have now started a whole new blog called, yes, TV Guide Time Machine, where I intend to post many, many strange stories which may or may not be found interesting by the general populace. Hopefully, through the magic of the interwebs, someone somewhere will manage to find something of use in these ramblings about thirty-year-old TV Guide magazines. Only time will tell I suppose.
In addition to the blog mentioned above, Happy New Year 1976! is a good example of the kind of writings that one can expect from TV Guide Time Machine: The Blog. I've realized that I have a LOT of stuff I want to say about these outdated relics from my past, and that posting them all here at Monster Dad would just be too much, and further water down any sort of sense of a consistent theme I might have here (if there even is anything resembling a consistent theme here to begin with...).
The first post on TV Guide Time Machine (appropriately enough titled "Welcome to the TV Guide Time Machine") is now up and ready for perusal. Hopefully I'll find the time to put up more of these "interesting and useful" (yeah, right) tidbits up soon. Please stay tuned. ...Or don't. It's your choice of course.
As anyone who might have read Monster Dad over the past year or so probably already knows, I tend to think about the past. ...A lot. We're not talking about the distant past of dinosaurs and The Old West, but rather my own personal past of playing with dinosaur toys and playing Cowboys and Indians. For anyone reading this blog for the first time, trust me--it's true.
I have already written a lot about my past on here, and am currently contemplating a whole bunch of similarly themed entries. While there was some consideration about starting a whole new blog just for these archeological digs into my younger days as a Monster Kid, I've decided to continue posting them right here at Monster Dad. To set these posts off a bit I will call all of them "Resurrecting the Past:" from now on, with the subject of each particular excavation listed after the colon. Hopefully this will make it easy to find such entries without muddling everything else up too much. I always wanted to keep the theme of Monster Dad open so that I could write about all different kinds of random things that might pop into my head (things like Little People, exterminators, the weather, NBA basketball, hot dogs, tofu, MRE's...). This type of stuff will continue to be featured (sorry if it's not your cup of tea), but the probing looks into my past will be easy to categorize from now on.
While I haven't laid down any hard and fast rules, it seems likely that these "Resurrecting the Past" posts will generally tend to be of three types:
Rediscovering an old piece of my past that I had thought was long-lost (a toy, piece of forgotten ephemera from my childhood, some random memento from my past). These posts will talk about when I originally had the item in question, how and where it was found, and what The Little Monster thinks of it (if it's something appropriate to share with her).
Pondering something from my past that is indeed long-gone, or something I had always wanted as a kid but never had...until now (whether I recently purchased one for myself of for The Little Monster). As you can see the whole parenting aspect of Monster Dad will still be in effect.
Using detective work to try to put together random bits of memory from my past into a coherent narrative. Solving mysteries from my past and putting a specific date or place with a formerly vague memory.
There have already been example of these types of stories written about before. I just didn't know that there would be enough of them that it might be a good idea to give them a title they could all fall under. For examples of this kind of post see: Anorexic Toy Soldiers (where I rediscover a set of Army Men purchased through a comic book ad that I thought were thrown out decades ago), Happy New Year 1976 (where a few random memories of a New Year's Party are finally confirmed through research into TV listings from the mid-1970s), Creation Convention--25 Years Later and Creation Convention Part II: Geeks on Parade (where the discovery of an old flyer for a sci-fi/comic book convention kindles fond memories of a geeky past).
I mentioned that I considered starting a whole new blog for "Resurrecting the Past". Part of the reason that I didn't do that was because I ALREADY started another blog recently--and I don't want to spread myself too thin. There haven't been any posts to that other blog yet. Stay tuned for an announcement about it when I finally do get around to writing there (hopefully soon)...
Here's what's been dug up and/or resurrected so far:
The National Amusements chain of movie theaters offers a number of "special programs" that give you a chance to do something different than simply going to all the latest Hollywood releases. I've written before (in Movies, Memories and My Dad) about the Silver Screen program--a great series of old (mostly Public Domain) movies that's geared mainly to the senior crowd. They also offer plenty of live broadcasts of various events (concerts, operas, sporting events...). One series that I have been missing for a while is the "Attack of the B-Movies" series, but that's a topic for another time... Anyway, as one might expect, National Amusements also has a number of special programs for kids. There's "The Popcorn Club", "Book Worm Wednesdays" (where kids get free admission to a movie with a book report), and "Kidtoons" among the offerings. This blog will focus on Kidtoons, but information on all the other special programs (as well as participating theaters where they're seen) can be found at the National Amusements website.
I've mentioned before that I don't subject The Little Monster to a constant diet of monster and horror movies. I DO want her to grow up to be a "normal" person and won't want to warp her sense of reality or anything. One of our favorite father-daughter activities of the past few months has been the Kidtoon shows. We started going in February and, other than missing a couple months recently, have been going ever since. The series itself has been running for about four years, so I guess we're late-comers to the party.
Our tickets for today's show
So what is the Kidtoons series? Well, the second weekend of every month select National Amusements theaters offer the program. It runs on both Saturday and Sunday at noon. For only $3.50 per ticket you get to take your kids to a G-rated program. Most of the features we've seen so far have been direct-to-DVD type fare rather than theatrically released movies, but they've all been good fun for The Little Monster. In addition to the low admission price you're also given one coupon per child for a $3.50 Kids Combo, or "Go Box" (a Happy-Meal type box that includes a small popcorn, small drink and a choice of M&M's, fruit snack or snack mix). I believe that these boxes can be purchased at any time, but the regular price is something like $7.00. This means that The Little Monster and I can go to a show and get some snacks for only $10.50 in total ($3.50 for each ticket, plus $3.50 for the Kids Combo). That's less than normal price for a regular movie ticket!
The Go Box (Kids Combo) discount coupon
And the Go Box itself
Contents of the Go Box
We just went to Kidtoons today (July 10th) and watched a Babar video that was featured (which may have come from a recent Barbar TV show that I'm not familiar with). It was a series of short episodes called "Barbar and the Adventrues of Badou: Swing into Summer". Like most of the Kidtoons shows we've been to, this one was a computer animated show (rather than the traditional-style animation of the old Barbar show I remember watching on TV as a kid). Other shows we've seen have included "Barbie: A Fairy Secret", "The Little Engine that Could" and "The Strawberry Shortcake Movie: Sky's the Limit". No, none of them have been "Star Wars" or "Godzilla" movies, but still we've had a great time at all of the ones we've been to so far and hope to get to many more. They tend to have some shows that appeal more to girls (Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake...) and some that might appeal more to boys (The Little Engine that Could, Thomas the Tank Engine...), but luckily The Little Monster is open to pretty much any and all cartoon-based entertainment. She's good like that.
The poster for today's Kidtoons show
And a clearer look at the image on the poster
Heading into the theater
The Little Monster's got her Go Box and is ready to start the show!
SHOWTIME!
And, I should also mention that you don't just get the featured movie or show for that $3.50 ticket price either. As you leave the theater they ask you if you will be joining them for Story Time. If the answer is yes they give you another ticket/coupon to bring to the area where Story Time will be taking place. A staff member chats with the kids a bit and reads a couple books to them. Then the kids sit down to do some coloring. Crayons and sheets for coloring (usually with pictures from--or related to--the show they just watched) are provided. Each kid also gets a slice of pizza too! You simply get in line and give them the ticket/coupon they gave you when you left the movie and they give you pizza for your kid(s). Not only that, but if you put your child's name on the back of the ticket/coupon, they raffle off the books that they had read to the kids during Story Time. This means that for just $10.50 The Little Monster and I get to see a movie (or show), eat some movie snacks, hear some books read, do some coloring, eat some pizza (at least The Monster gets pizza anyway) AND get a chance at winning a free book! The Little Monster actually won the raffle for the "The Little Engine that Could" book that was read at Story Time the day of that show a few months ago! And, of course, it's also just a nice way for us to have some special time together as father and daughter. We will get back to the monster movies soon enough I'm sure...
The Little Monster with her pizza ticket before Story Time
Coloring after the book reading at Story Time
And enjoying a slice of pizza!
Well, that's about all there is to say about our Kidtoons adventure. Please check the website for National Amusements for up-to-date information about what movie will be showing next (and which theaters are participating in the series). I would like to finish up with a few more photos from our trip out to the movies today...
Here's our local movie theater: The Blackstone Valley 14 Cinema De Lux in Millbury (MA)
The cinema has two parking lots--I like to use the one around back because it has a long hallway plastered with posters for upcoming movies. Not only that, but it also leads to...
...A giant window overlooking the lower parking lot and with a nice view into the distance
The Little Monster likes to look at the cars from this window before we head down the escalator to the lobby on the first floor (and afterwards too). These were taken on our way out after the show.
All the excitement was too much for The Little Monster and she conked out on the way home
The 2011 edition of the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama at the Riverside Drive-In in North Vandergrift, PA is rapidly approaching. It's coming up on Friday, September 9th and Saturday, September 10th. While the movies were announced a while back, I kind of thought I had plenty of time to report on the show. All of a sudden it's only a mere two months away! Just like a schlocky monster or psycho killer in a cheesy 1960s drive-in B-movie, the Monster-Rama has crept up on me and pounced. Suddenly I'm scrambling to make sure that I'll be able to go to this awesome show.
2011 marks the fifth year of the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama. It's a nice little anniversary and it shows how this event is quickly growing into an institution for drive-in movie fans across the country. The majority of the audience seems to come from Pennsylvania, but plenty of people make the effort to plan ahead so they can make the long drive from all over the place. Last year was the first time I've been lucky enough to make it there. I live in Massachusetts, so it's not the easiest thing to arrange a trip like this. I hitched a ride with some friends (and Monster-Rama veterans) who were coming from even further away than myself (New Hampshire). It's definitely worth the effort if you can possibly make it happen. There simply aren't a lot of drive-ins putting on this kind of a nostalgic retro-show these days. Of course, there aren't a lot of drive-in theaters even still in business these days at all compared to the time the movies featured in the Monster-Rama first made the rounds in the 1960s and 70s. All the more reason to make a pilgrimage to this show.
So what is the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama anyway? Well George Reis and the folks at DVD Drive-In have been putting the show together the past five years, and the good people of the Riverside Drive-In make their theater available for it each year. The drive-in normally ends its season after Labor Day weekend. They stay open for one more week for the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama. While it's a labor of love more than a money-making venture for either party, the relationship works out very well for everyone (including the drive-in and movie fans who go to the show).
Over two nights in September (Friday, September 8 and Saturday, September 9 this year) eight movies are screened at the Riverside. Yes, you read that right--EIGHT movies. Four films are shown each night, along with a whole slew of other entertainment. There are cartoons and shorts between the movies, along with lots of nostalgic old drive-in intermission ads and tons of great (and sometimes rare) trailers for all kinds of movies that would have been shown at drive-ins in the 1960s and 70s. The trailers are heavy on horror and monsters of course, but you're also likely to see biker movies, beach movies and some random surprises that you might not have expected--just to keep you on your toes!
Four movies in a single night (along with all that other ancillary entertainment) makes for a looooong night. Luckily, there are other things to do if you feel the need to get up and stretch your legs. Many people have become regulars at the Monster-Rama and there is a lot of visiting between cars with people catching up and discussing drive-ins and movies. The Riverside's snack bar also remains open throughout the entire show--meaning you can snack on all kinds of drive-in fare whenever you feel the need. Along with the usual popcorn, candy, nachos, hamburgers and hot dogs, the Riverside also features french fries, pizza, chicken sandwiches and many other goodies. There's enough variety that you can eat different stuff all throughout both nights of the show. Here's the Riverside's menu to give you a better idea of what they have to offer:
There is another reason to go to the snack bar besides food though. Creepy Classics also sets up shop in the building with tables filled with books, magazines, posters, T-shirts, toys and more DVDs than you can shake a stick at! It seems to take all of both nights to get through all of the dozens of boxes of DVDs they have stacked up on the tables. The titles range from common stuff you can find in most stores to very rare stuff you'd have a tough time tracking down anywhere else. ...Oh yeah, the Riverside also has a couple cool vintage pinball machines that really complete the whole retro vibe.
So how much does all this fun and entertainment cost? Well, the organizers realize that many people are traveling a good distance to get to the show so they try to keep the price down. Tickets are only ten dollars a person per night. That works out to only $2.50 per movie, not including all the rest of the filmed entertainment you'll see up on the giant screen. Like I said, they're more interested in putting on a good show and trying to establish a nice following than making money off the event. It's not a cheap show to put on either. Everything that is projected on the screen (not only the movies but also the short subjects, intermission and drive-in ads and all the trailers) is coming from 35mm film stock. It would be incredibly easy (and a lot cheaper) to simply project an image from a DVD, but these people are film fans who take their movies seriously. They wouldn't want to see a DVD projected on the screen, and they wouldn't ask people to drive hundreds of miles to go to a drive-in to watch DVDs projected onto a big screen. Nope, everything you'll see at a Drive-In Super Monster-Rama is projected the same as it would have been back in the 1960s/70s heyday of drive-in horror shows like this. It's a very nice touch--and the show wouldn't be nearly as special without it.
So what are the movies that will be featured at this year's Drive-In Super Monster-Rama? Well, the films that will be shown on the first night (Friday, September 9) are:
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in I, Monster (1971)
For me personally this is a great lineup. I've seen (or at least remember seeing) exactly half of the eight movies (the first two of each night). This gives me a great variety of films I'm familiar with and enjoy, as well as some "new" stuff that I will be experiencing for the first time. And I'll be able to experience ALL of them as they were originally intended to be seen--on the big screen. The four movies I have already seen were all watched on DVD, so it will be a whole new ballgame seeing them up on the Riverside's giant screen.
I should also mention that the Riverside offers overnight camping at the drive-in for both nights of the show for only ten dollars per night. Not only would it be a very cool thing to be able to say you camped out at a drive-in, it's also another money-saving perk for those coming from a long distance who already have to worry about paying for all that gas. If spending the money on a decent hotel/motel for your stay is a deal breaker, then it might be worth looking into the Riverside's camping offer. See the website for the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama 2011 for more details.
I'm tentatively planning on going to the Monster-Rama again this year. If it all comes together and I do indeed get to go, I'm hoping to see a lot of returning fans as well as a bunch of new people experiencing the fun and frights that a Monster-Rama offers for the very first time (as I did myself last year). It's simply a great time, and if you are a fan of old movies like these and/or a fan of drive-ins then it really is a must.
For a more detailed look at what a Drive-In Super Monster-Rama entails, please check out my three-part look back at last year's (2010) show:
(And there's a reason I picked that year's Fourth of July cover...)
Listening to the sounds of far-off fireworks going of in the distance on a hot summer night near the Fourth of July brings back many memories of Fourths gone by. As a kid I always loved hearing those distant fireworks popping, cracking and exploding as the Fourth of July approached. These sounds came from both big-time professional fireworks in other towns and smaller backyard displays around the neighborhood. I liked playing Army when I was young and the "sound effects" made the perfect background for a pretend battle. Hearing those summer sounds today brings back those old memories and also makes me think of how the Fourth is different (and also the same) for The Little Monster compared to when I was a Monster Kid.
I don't really recall a lot of well-established Fourth of July rituals and traditions in my family. I'm sure we did have some (like our other holiday parties and get-togethers throughout the year), but it seems like they were starting to fade out by the time I came around (I was the youngest of nine children). I do recall some summer cookouts that might have very well been on or around the Fourth. I also remember at least a couple of times that fireworks were brought to our house and set off (and a vague memory of the scary time my sister was burned by one of those fireworks). And I remember going out to firework displays and bonfires in various locales. It seems like every Fourth of July from my early years was different, but the memories are all jumbled and interchangeable in my mind. All except one...
In 1976 I was six when July 4th rolled around. Needless to say, that was a BIG year for the Fourth. America was celebrating its 200th anniversary. The celebration lasted through most of 1975 and 1976, but the country's "real" 200th birthday was on July 4, 1976 of course. I have always had a snippet of a memory that I can't quite confirm is from that Fourth of July, but I'm almost positive that it was. My family was sitting by the side of the road in my hometown of Uxbridge, Massachusetts waiting for the Bicentennial parade to go by. I don't really remember much from the parade itself (or what we did before or after it for that matter) but it always seemed like that was what we were there for. The location is interesting because it wasn't on or near the town's Common--which is where I remember watching nearly every parade I ever saw in town as a kid. This was at the end of a street near where my oldest sister and uncle lived.
It seems a pretty safe bet that this little fragment of a memory is indeed from 1976--mainly because the Fourth of July celebrations in my town didn't usually include a parade. The sheer differentness of this fact is probably why I remember it. And perhaps it's also why I don't remember anything else from that year's celebration. For the most part the rest of my early Fourth of July memories are interchangeable and could be from pretty much any Fourth of July from the mid- to late-1970s. This parade memory is such a fleeting and isolated memory that I feel I need to "exercise" it to make sure it stays with me. It seems that every year at this time I recall this special parade, but now I'm kind of afraid that the only real memory I (believe) I have from the Bicentennial might fade as it's replaced with other information constantly filling my head. I liken the "exercising" of this memory to taking a stick out of a campfire and blowing on the glowing embers at the end to keep them from going out. It won't be long before the ember will grow dark and cold if you forget to blow on them. I don't want that to happen to my little Bicentennial recollection.
Now it's time to discuss what's different about today's Fourth of July celebrations. Obviously the 1970s and the 2010s differ in many ways. But for the most part, my personal memories of Fourth of July celebrations from my youth are filled with things pretty similar to the stuff The Little Monster is experiencing now: family, friends, food, fun, and fireworks. Up until this year The Little Monster was terrified of fireworks and wanted nothing to do with them or their noise. Two nights ago we took the girls to our town's Fourth of July celebration and fireworks display. The Little Monster put on a brave face all day, insisting that she did indeed want to see the fireworks, but we had our doubts. I'm happy to report that she had a great time (even though we were relatively close to the action--and the noise). She didn't cry at all, and barely even covered her ears!
So, if The Little Monster's Fourth of July experiences are so similar to my early ones, then what exactly is different? One word... SPARKLERS! I remember that every Fourth of July celebration when I was growing up included sparklers for the kids to go along with the fireworks the adults would be setting off. How I loved waving those magical things around in the air, watching the sparks fly. Those little metal wands which looked (and acted) quite a bit like welding rods were an important part of those long-ago celebrations. Apparently they have been deemed too dangerous for kids over the past couple of decades, and you don't seem to see them much anymore (at least not in Massachusetts). I can kind of understand this. After all, these "toys" were ignited with fire (matches or a lighter) and then threw off a shower of real, honest-to-goodness sparks. They were also red-hot while in full glory. I never witnessed anyone being hurt by sparklers, but I'm sure some kids did get careless with them and got burned.
Back in the 1970s getting burned by a sparkler would be considered learning a valuable lesson (I'm sure those kids that got burned were a lot more careful the next time--if they ever picked up another sparkler). These days the possibility of getting hurt--and the ensuing lawsuits--make the fun and excitement of playing with sparklers (a fun which was indeed heightened by the potential dangerousness) something that kids today probably don't get a chance to experience. Understandable to some extent, but kind of sad. I suppose that there are a lot of glow sticks and battery-operated blinking and glowing toys that parents can buy for their kids to wave around at parades and fireworks displays, but it's just not the same.
Note to self: Next year, make it a point to track down and buy a package of sparklers for the Fourth of July!
And, finally, here's a look at our town's celebration of this year's Fourth of July, including just a few moments from the parade as well as part of the fireworks show. This fireworks show was the first one for our Littlest Monster. And it also marked the first time that The Little Monster didn't cover her ears and cry herself through a fireworks display. A special moment, and a special new Fourth of July memory indeed!
UPDATE:
It turns out that I was wrong about the memory of the parade as being in 1976 for the Bicentennial. Further research into the past has revealed the truth. Read it here:
