Watching movies from the comfort of your couch (or in my case, the recliner) is nothing new, but nowadays the choices aren’t nearly as limited as they used to be.

Once upon a time, we had to wait several months, sometimes over a year, before enjoying a Hollywood blockbuster in our dens and living rooms. Now, with all the streaming services and devices out there, movie buffs can stay fairly current in their viewing activities.

We’ve come a long way since the VCR days. TV screens are getting bigger and more affordable everyday. Home sound systems keep getting better and better. And if you want, you can even stream a movie on your phone or other gadget. How cool is that?

I’ve been in some mighty fine home theaters (my oldest daughter, Randa has a very nice media room in her house that I’m kind of jealous of), but there’s nothing like the real thing - the cinema.

Even though I haven’t been to the theater in what seems like forever and a day, that’s my preferred viewing method, at least when it comes to first-run and certain “classic” flicks.

When I was a teenager, going to the movies is what we did on the weekends. I saw many a film at the Hornbeck and the Ritz in Shawnee. We made the trip because we didn’t have a movie house in Seminole at that time. The theater on Main Street closed when I was fairly young and the Strother Cinema didn’t open until after I had graduated high school, but we had something that a lot of people have never experienced - a drive-in.

The Skyway Drive-in sat on the east side of Highway 3, not too far north of Good Hope Road. Going there was practically a rite of passage for many Seminole teens. All you had to do was find the perfect vantage point and clamp the speaker box to your car window and it was show time.

I don’t recall all of the flicks I saw at the Skyway, I just remember it being FUN. Folklore has it that kids would hide in the trunks of cars to avoid paying the admission fee then pop out when the vehicle pulled onto the back row. I have no firsthand knowledge of such shenanigans (at least that I’m willing to cop to), but I can attest to the fact that acts of mischief indeed occurred at that old drive-in, especially on the back rows.

One early 80s night I was enjoying a flick, possibly “Escape From New York,” with a couple of buddies of mine when someone in a nearby car shot a bottle rocket in my direction. We had all the windows in my Monte Carlo rolled down and the projectile whizzed right under my chin and went out the passenger window. Where else can you experience something like that?

Yessir, going to the movies in person, especially the drive-in, is something I hope everyone gets to experience in their lifetime. Since COVID has been so hard on the theater business, maybe it’s time to resurrect the drive in. Social distancing wouldn’t be much of an issue.

Maybe someone entrepreneur will read this and give the drive-in concept some thought. I promise to pay the admission and leave the fireworks at home if it opens back up.