I Went to a Drive-In Theater to Feel Normal. The Opposite Happened.
If catching a movie at these establishments once offered a sojourn into the past, going to one amid the pandemic provides a glimpse of the future.
I arrive at the Paramount Drive-In Theater two and a half hours before its first screening, but it appears I’m already late: Ahead of me, a line of cars has formed, ranging from sedans like mine to pickup trucks loaded with blankets and pillows in the back, all inching toward the entrance. A masked employee walks toward me, stands a few feet away from my window, and informs me that my ticket will be placed on my windshield to minimize contact, and that I should review the new social-distancing guidelines posted by the box office, which she and her fellow attendants will be enforcing.
It’s the last Friday in May when I attend the grand reopening of the drive-in after the pandemic forced its closure
