Letters to Olivia

It was the summer of 1978 and what a great summer it was. Six-year-old Frankie Jamison was spending it riding his bike on countless adventures through the local park during the day and spending hours at the city pool with his friends. There was always another wonder to discover at Spring Lake Park. It included either feeding the numerous ducks and geese, catching frogs and salamanders or hiding in the wooded areas and homemade trails. Even with all that available to him, he couldn’t wait for tonight. The family was going to spend the evening at the Twin Star Drive-In after supper. It was one of the bright spots in the sleepy farm town of Mankato, Minnesota. It featured several huge screens and a concession area that sold all kinds of snacks that would rot your teeth as far as his mom was concerned. On the weekends, during the day they held flea markets at the drive-in. Frankie’s dad had taken him there numerous times as people sold everything under the sun. Frankie and his dad always found some really neat stuff while they walked the numerous booths and munched on popcorn. Tonight they were going to see the newest release, some silly musical based in the fifties or something like that. The last movie they saw was about aliens coming to earth in ships that were all lit up. It was really cool because it had a little boy in it that ended up getting taken by the aliens. Frankie didn’t much care about a silly musical but it was a big deal when they got to go to the drive-in because they always got popcorn and other treats while they watched the movie. After another afternoon of swimming and adventures, Frankie decided it was time to head home. He knew better than to be out after the sun started to set, especially tonight. As he walked in his house, his mother was right there to herd him and his sister into the bathroom to wash up for supper. His father arrived home from work as they were sitting down to eat. He worked at a factory that built large back-up generators for hospitals and businesses. He always came home looking so tired but tonight he came into the house smiling. He kissed Frankie’s mom and looked over at them. “Are you ready for the movie, it is going to be totally great. I saw previews on TV and it looked really good.” Said Frankie’s dad enthusiastically. The truth is Frankie had seen the previews for the movie as well and it looked kind of corny. The part he had seen showed a bunch of guys with greasy hair in silver coveralls dancing around a red frame of a car with music playing. When they arrived at the drive-in, Frankie took in all the sights and smells around him. The dusty drive-in was fragrant with a hint of road grit mixed with the perfume of fresh popped corn and cotton candy. There were kids running around and in between parked cars and people in small groups talking amongst themselves. The big screens were still blank, as it hadn’t gotten dark enough yet to start the feature movies of the night. When the car finally stopped, Frankie asked if he could go play on the playground for a little while before the movie started. “Just for a little while.” his mother replied and he leaped out of the car and ran to the playground to play with the other children. His father came and retrieved him a short while later as darkness was slowly creeping in. After a shower of OFF spray, Frankie and his sister were deposited into the back seat under a blanket with a bucket of popcorn to share. He wasn’t worried, his sister always ended up in his mom’s lap asleep before the movie was over anyway, so he would get most of the popcorn to himself. As the movie started, Frankie settled in and got comfortable. He just knew this movie was going to stink but at least his little sister had already started to fall asleep, as it got dark so she wouldn’t bother him. The movie started out slow, a guy and a girl hugging and kissing, yuck, and then the film proceeded the guy in a leather jacket with a cigarette hanging out his mouth with a bunch of girls hanging around him. When Frankie got older he hoped he was like that guy but for now girls were gross except for his cousins who visited once in a while. As the movie proceeded, a bunch of girls drove up in a pink car in the movie. The driver was kind of loud and rude and Frankie guessed she was in charge of the other girls. Then the movie flashed to the office of the school and he really paid attention to the girl from the beginning that entered alone. She was the prettiest girl he had ever seen next to his mom. She had big blue eyes and long blond hair and when she talked she sounded kind of funny but neat at the same time. She was in a long skirt with a dog on the side and a sweater like his mom wore to church on Sundays. Maybe this movie wasn’t going to be so bad, as long as she was in most of the movie it would be all right.