Did you ever feel you have a “million dollar” idea?  Not that you’d literally make a million dollars, but an idea you feel just “can’t miss”?

My wife and I get these all the time.  For example, years ago, we thought that if a pet food company came out with cans of gravy – just gravy – they’d make a fortune.  We even named our idea – “Auntie Leigh’s Happy Lappin’ Cat Gravy”.  Sure fire winner right there, and apparently our phones must have heard us talking, because I think some big pet food company is already doing it.  They don’t have that catchy name, though.  Anyway, I digress.

In these days of high costs and post-pandemic ebbs and flows of COVID-19, folks are constantly searching for entertainment options that:

• They can do together as a family
• gets them out of the house
• is affordable and local
• keeps their distance from the plague-ridden general public

Well that, dear friends, is where my latest brainstorm comes in – the return of the drive-in movie theater.  While there are a few of these relics from the past remaining, they are hard to find these days.

Don’t you think they could make a comeback?

Gone are the days of grainy pictures and terrible sound systems (pumped into the car in thrilling “mono” sound by a giant metallic box that hangs from the car window).  These days, digital projection systems can provide theater quality visuals, while the sound can be transmitted right over the stereo system of one’s car, providing excellent sound quality.  Even at $50 a carload, you’d probably still get off easier (price-wise) than going to the regular theaters.

I’m not saying it would be a cheap or easy start-up.  Digital projection systems and a FM transmission system cost a healthy five or six figures (I checked) – not to mention the cost of leasing the movie prints to exhibit, but hey – that’s why God made the snack bar.

The younger generation today doesn’t know the thrill of piling into the car (or better yet, the back of a pick-up) and heading for the drive-in, where youngsters could wear their pajamas, munch on popcorn, and watch weird and wonderful movie pairings under the stars.  I think the last double-feature I saw at the drive-in was Disney’s “The Jungle Book” (the animated one) followed by “Jaws”.  Weird.

My brother (who lives in LA) still frequents the drive-in (they have a few left out there).  He recently saw “Top Gun : Maverick” outdoors and said the place was packed.  He and his wife got some cheap pizzas, a bag of bad popcorn, parked the SUV backwards and raised the hatch, stretching out in the back to marvel at an evening at the movies.

Who wouldn’t want to drive somewhere nearby on a clear summer night and watch the latest “Jurassic World” movie, maybe paired up with the latest remake of Stephen King’s “Firestarter”?  Slip in a “Tom and Jerry” cartoon sandwiched somewhere in the middle – along with some dancing hot dogs and soft drinks.  Ahhhh, the nostalgia.  All of this while camped out in the back of a truck bed on an air mattress while snacking on nachos and sipping on a cherry slushee?  Sounds like a pretty good Saturday night to me.

I’m telling you, someone is going to make a fortune.