Uncle Bob & Aunt C. burn down the town, stay out late, eat unhealthy food, get bit by mosquitos

Dear W**** & J**,

Hmmm well I just have to tell SOMEBODY about this and I've picked on youse (plural of "you") 'cause you live within striking distance of this and MAYBE sometime before the summer season ends a miracle might occur and you MIGHT get a weekend night off, like with visiting grandparents or something like that.

C. and I'd been mumbling and muttering about wanting to do this but we just kept putting it off and getting distracted, but finally we focused (!) and made it happen Sunday night. Anyway, we drove up to the Northfield Drive-In and caught a double feature of two totally brain-dead movies that we figured would be fun on the Super Big Giant Screen. These are movies that any decent, educated people should be ashamed to tell anybody they know that they went out of their way to see, but we did it anyway.

"Transformers" was the first movie -- the early movie is usually a little more kiddie-oriented and then the kiddies get exhausted and fall asleep in the back seat, and then the adults watch a more adult film. Whether "Live Free Or Die Hard" is certifiably more adult than "Transformers" is a questionable proposition, but that was the second flick. I think Bruce Willis as one cop laid waste to more of Earth than the combined invasion of the alien Transformers.

An amazing technological revolution since the last time I went to the Drive-In!!! Now instead of those metal speakers on poles (but they kept the poles), you get the sound off a channel (81.1) on the car FM radio! So you can actually hear and comprehend the sound track! (Not that these movies required much of that.)

Notice that the * straddles the NH state line. In fact the Snack Bar is actually in New Hampshire and so they have to add the 8 percent NH food tax. Except for popcorn, EVERYTHING on the menu is Hazardous To Your Health (and pretty tasty), and was outlawed in most civilized parts of the world years ago. Fried Dough. Corn Dogs. Giant Hot Pretzels (mustard optional).

Teenagers in nearby cars were necking. I haven't had to wear insect repellent at a movie for decades. (In fact I am one year older than the Northfield Drive-In.) It was SPOOKY how Time Machine this whole experience was. But the whole thing was just Totally Charming, and the crowd (?) were Totally Well-Behaved and Very Mellow.

Today we were chatting with our neighbor Helen, and it turns out that she was worried we were having some kind of family or health crisis, 'cause C.'s car was gone until 3 am. Add 30 minutes 'cause after we left the Drive-In, C. took a wrong turn onto I-91 and we couldn't turn around until we got to Brattleboro. We got gas at a station with four police cars and several seedy-looking Youth being put into the back of the police cars.

Each of these movies had some sort of Plot, but don't worry about it. Anyway, if you want to catch a double-feature there, it will be a different pair of movies. The Drive-In's only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Oh, when it started to get dark, they showed a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Mickey, Donald and Goofy tried to build a boat, but it sank when Minnie smashed it with the champagne bottle.

This coming weekend: "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and "Knocked Up." Later in August "The Simpsons Movie," "The Bourne Tedium," "Hairspray," "Underdog," "Rush Hour 3."

Like I said, if you get a weekend night off, think about it, we had a really dandy time, it was a really screwy experience, and I have this suspicion that The Northfield Drive-In will not be a thing you can postpone visiting indefinitely, Nostrabobus suspects it is Not Long For This World. Don't forget the insect repellent and make sure the FM radio works or bring a boombox.

B