Today is Drive-In Movie Day. Drive-in movies are no longer a thing. If you can find a drive-in theater, it’s a kitschy, retro thing. However, a long time ago (yes, I’m dating myself), these were very, very popular.

When I was a child, my father was an airman in the Air Force and had to work extra part-time jobs to support our family—so, not a lot of money for anything except the necessities. My mother sewed our clothes, sewed Barbie clothes (mine was the best dressed in the neighborhood!), and entertainment wasn’t something we paid for except for special occasions. We had a green station wagon to haul our family around inside. There were six of us, so we had to have the larger car.

One of my earliest memories was a trip to the drive-in. We went to see Cat Balou (released in 1965 and starring Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda). My mother popped a pillowcase of popcorn, brought drinks, and we brought sleeping bags (camping was another cheap entertainment we enjoyed). We folded down the backseat of the station wagon and rolled out the sleeping bags in case the younger kids fell asleep during the movie. We propped the speaker in Dad’s window and watched the show. I can still remember the tinny sound of that speaker, but didn’t mind. It was pure magic.

Cut away to college in the late 70s. We had a drive-in theater in our little Arkansas town, and yeah, we were still cash-strapped. I was barely in college, but had a Chevy Impala with a very roomy trunk. You paid per person rather than per car, so we loaded four or five kids into the trunk while my brother sat in the front seat with me. We had to wait until the sun went down to pop the trunk and let our passengers out. If you can imagine a bunch of teenagers, giggling like mad, farting and moaning, it was hilarious for my brother and me, but we loved going to the drive-in with friends.

The most memorable experience was when I took my sister (Elle James) to see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the drive-in. And now, you can imagine what happened. In the middle of the most stressful scene, where we were already sinking in our seats due to the horror on the screen, someone at the back of the drive-in revved up a chainsaw. You never saw cars fly out of a place so fast. We were right there with them, screaming and laughing. Needless to say, we missed the end of the movie.

That drive-in theater closed years ago. It couldn’t compete with the large, multi-screen theaters, and I’m sure there were fewer and fewer folks willing to endure the mosquitoes in a hot humid summer. I miss it, though. I wish there was one nearby so I could share that experience with our kids now.

So, those are my stories. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know whether you’ve ever been to a drive-in movie. Share your experience. Or if you haven’t, what was your most unusual movie theater experience?

UPDATE: The winner is…Steph!
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Did you notice I didn’t post yesterday? Sorry about that. I posted daily without fail for over five years. Now, if I’m tired and I don’t have a guest’s post, I just won’t. Rest has been my priority. Insomnia has been a thing for the past few weeks. I can be plenty tired when I lay down, but the moment my head hits the pillow… Well, at first, it was due to painful muscles and joints. I got into the habit of sucking down a hydro at night, but it doesn’t really help with sleep. Last night, my dd gave me a melatonin gummy, and I slept for 7.5 hours!!!!!  I feel sooooo good. The only other thing that happened this week was I had a blood draw, and the clinic called me a couple of hours later and told me to get to Hot Springs ASAP because my white blood count had dropped into the dumpster, and they needed me to come in for an injection to help with that. So, my poor dd had yet another appointment to take me to. Next week’s calendar is pretty full, too. Multiple appointments, my port surgery, finally. Then, the following week, I’ll be sitting in the chemo chair again. Ugh. I’m still trying to figure out the rhythm of the appointments and how they affect my body so I can try to get to a new normal.

But enough of that!

All the girls are home today, so we plan on having a lazy movie day later this afternoon. Pizza and The Proposal, I think. The 11-year-old’s first celebrity crush is Ryan Reynolds, so we thought that would be fun for her. In the meantime, I have some work I need to get out of the way. The weather has taken a sudden turn. The air is a little nippy outside. It’s almost sweater weather. That’s not nearly as good as swim weather, but we have to enjoy the change of seasons. It’s that or be grumpy throughout the Fall, and that’s not permitted!

I hope you all have a lazy, pleasant day. Solve the puzzle then tell me what you’re planning to do for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Yesterday was fantastic! It was such a cool girls’ day out to celebrate the oldest hitting 20! We had lunch at Red Lobster (do you know how hard it is to count Weight Watchers points there?!), we did some light shopping at Ulta, TJ Maxx, and Bath & Body Works, and then we went to see Inside Out 2! We loved the movie, BTW. When we got home, we all jumped into the pool for an hour, dancing to hip-hop and Gypsy Kings in the water! Lovely day! I slept like a baby last night.

I hope you’re finding ways to enjoy your summer! We do our best to beat the heat or plan our time outside for the morning or late afternoon. The electric bill for last month nearly choked me, but that’s the price of living in the South. 🙁

You all take care and have a great week! Be sure to check out the multitude of contests listed below! ~DD

Report Card

Last week…

• I began plugging away in earnest at writing the book due out later this month!
• I worked on one editing job for another author.
• I continued working on editing the Secret Identities short stories for the anthology.
• We finally got the pool chemicals balanced and started swimming!
• I began Weight Watchers and have lost 4.2 pounds!

This next week…

• I’ll continue to work on Cyrus!
• I will finish an editing job for another author!
• I’ll finish editing stories in the Secret Identities anthology.
• I’ll begin working on my short story for SI!
• I have an imaging appointment on Monday.
• I’ll continue swimming and counting those points on Weight Watchers!

Open Contests

On the Delilah’s Collections website!

1. GETTING TO KNOW CAMERON ALLIE (CONTEST + 2 FREE READS!) — Last day to enter! 10 winners! Win a FREE book + Everyone gets 2 FREE books!
2. GETTING TO KNOW REINA TORRES (CONTEST) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
3. GETTING TO KNOW DARAH LACE (CONTEST) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!

Here, on this site!

1. Clear My Bookshelf Giveaway (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a SIGNED book + some hand painted (by me!) goodies!
2. Anna Taylor Sweringen/Michal Scott: Harriet Ann Jacobs – Setting and Keeping the Record Straight on Slavery (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. What’s Coming Soon & the Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Orange you glad you stopped by? — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. June into July (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Gabbi Grey: Puppies and kiddos (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Sliding Puzzle: Happy Independence Day! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Reina Torres! My New Military Romance Series! (Contest–Two Winners!) — Win a FREE book!
8. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: At the movies… — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Diane Sallans!
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Before we get into the contest… 

I just wanted to remind everyone, that we’re doing a “Getting to Know You” thing on the Collections website. We’re running contests and giveaways. You’ll meet authors who might be new to you! Be sure to follow this link to check it out. The posts will continue until the release of Secret Identities at the end of this month!

Now, onto today’s little ramble…

The 19-year-old turns twenty today! Our little college girl/pom squad member/school ambassador/future teacher. We’re so proud of her. So, her mom, I, and the 10-year-old are taking her to the city for a meal and a movie—Inside Out 2. We all love a good animated picture. 🙂

So, I’ll be away from my desk for most of the day. Today will be the one break I’ll give myself until I finish the book due out later this month! I hope everyone has a wonderful day, too. Be sure to catch up on the contests still open here and on the Collections website. Enjoy the puzzle!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you are a fan of animated movies. Do you have a favorite? Any recent favorites? The 10-year-old and I adore Moana and probably watch it once a month together just because. 🙂

UPDATE: The winner is…Beth!
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Do you sometimes wake up with a goal you can’t shake?

I watched a trailer for a movie yesterday and got so excited about it that I messaged the link to my daughter for her to watch. She never replied. So, I take that as she’s not excited about the idea. But how can she not be?! A giant shark in the Seine, IN PARIS?! It’s going to be epic!

Okay, so it’s not as over-the-top as the Sharknado movies (has there ever been anything as gonzo?!), but I can see the possibility of a fun movie night. When the Sharknado films came out every summer for all those years, we made the releases a big event. We’d binge-watch the preceding movies and hunker down with finger-foods and popcorn, our attention glued to the screen. They weren’t meant to be great art, and they weren’t, but oh what fun they were. I have the same reverence for The Meg movies. I just love shark movies and Shark Week. Summer isn’t summer without watching some new shark-disaster movie.

So, this morning, I awoke determined to watch the new movie tonight. I’m pretty sure I can talk the 15-year-old and the 10-year-old into watching with me. We’ll get a huge tub of popcorn and dim the lights. Under Paris will be watched!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you love shark movies like I do. Have you watched Jaws, the Sharknado movies…Shark Tale?

UPDATE: The winner is…Anne Marie Flamini!
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Okay, so you’re probably thinking my topic is kind of weird, but hear me out.

Coming up with topics on a daily basis isn’t always easy. Yes, I can talk about books, but doing that every day…? Boring. I have guests, so that changes things up. When I’m reaching for a topic, I love to check the calendar for weird holidays because I love an excuse to celebrate. Today’s holiday was VCR Day, and I thought about it, but got nothin’. So, I moved on. Then I thought about the History Channel’s website. Every day, they have a “This Day in History” post, so I headed on over to steal some ideas.

Some of today’s offerings were…

• Muhammed died (632)
• Robert F. Kennedy was buried (1968)
• Apache chief Cochise died (1874)

Those are sacred dates, so I know better than to have fun with them. Then another one popped up.

• Ghostbusters released (1984)

I remember when the movie came out. I think I was pregnant/giving birth at the time, so I didn’t see it in the theaters, but back in the day, we had HBO and a new-fangled way of watching movies we wanted, whenever we wanted, called a VCR (see how I worked that holiday into here?!). Ghostbusters was one of the recordings we made so we could enjoy it whenever we wanted. When my family went with me to Germany for my second tour there, all those taped movies we’d made were sooooo important! Remember, that was before streaming, and sometimes, we only had one channel, AFN (Armed Forces Network) to watch. The library on post had a ton of classic movies (most in B&W) to check out, and I attribute my love of classic movies to that period. However, it was our library of movies recorded off of HBO that saved our sanity. There were many, many kids’ movies among them…

Anyway, Ghostbusters it is, and I did manage to find an image I could use without getting into trouble with a copyright, so enjoy the puzzle!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me what classic movies you might have seeing made into a puzzle.

UPDATE: The winner is…Pamela Reveal!
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All of the family is heading to the movie theater today—after we walk all the dogs, feed and water the chickens, geese, guineas, goats and horse. It’s rare we all head out very far away because of the animals and everyone’s schedules, but we’re heading to see the new Aquaman movie! And yes, I could care less about the middling reviews. It’s Jason Momoa!

So, while we’re heading to eat a quick meal at a pizza buffet, followed by the movie, I’ll leave you with a puzzle! Something to share my excitement.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then tell me what movie you’d love to see on the big screen!