we made a last run to the drive-in thursday night for the season, me and my pal B. the old theater is fucked up, falling apart, signs rotting, bathrooms unspeakable, snack bar is a take-yr-life-in-hand affair, and garbage is everywhere. depressing as hell, but I still love the place, grew up there and soon it will be gone. and when it is bulldozed under to make room for a new strip mall, that's it, no more in n ca. well, there is one in Marysville but the owner lost the lease and the place is scheduled to close in Oct.

and but so B. picks me up in his vintage early 70s Monte Carlo, all cherry, with a brand-new orange paint job. the puppy is loud and fast and B. is happy as a clam driving it. personally I'm not a gearhead, so I'd rather ride in comfortable sedan, or family truckster, but what the hell, I figure this will be fun.

and it was. for the ride to the drive-in was loud and fast. the car gets noticed, for sure. when we stopped at the supermarket for munchies and beer one dweeb in the parking lot drooled over the car and told us it reminded him of the General Lee in the new T&A flick The Dukes of Hazzard.

ah shit, B. is canny, for sure. since that was the movie we decided to see. and so he must've thought he'd bring the right car.

and then Sacramento County started an aerial spraying campaign to combat mosquito-borne West Nile Virus. we were scheduled for a dose thursday night. we saw the plane dumping a load a couple of miles away while we were at the supermarket around 8:00 pm. soon it would be overhead.

but not before B. and I hosed ourselves with skeeter repellent. in fact, most people did just that at the theater. a little boy jumped out of an SUV soon as it parked, stood up straight, spread out his arms, and said, 'okay dad, I'm ready.' and dad dutifully sprayed him down.

the lot filled up fast. the night was warm and clear. everybody scanned the sky for the plane to drop its insecticide on us. and there was a brush fire 300 yards away. the flames were huge and orange, the smoke thick and reflected the fire. a police helicopter circled above while fire trucks got there in minutes and snuffed the flames out.

then the film started. leaving B. and I to shoot the shit, and eat more junk food. the movie is crap. hated it, and really hate the tv show. why in hell make a movie out of that dreck? but it was the perfect movie to ignore and soak up the atmosphere at the drive-in. a nearly perfect evening.