All posts by Denise

At the drive-in

Drive-In Intermission
Drive-In Intermission

I don’t know what came over me this afternoon. I’m sure my husband even wondered what came over me.

See, out of the blue, as we sat on the couch thinking about the day — Memorial Day, a day to honor and remember all the men and women who serve our country so we can enjoy our many freedoms — I blurted out, “Do you want to go see a movie?”

Movies are just so darn expensive to go see these days! And we’ve had to tighten down to get through. So for me to suggest going to see a movie was about like my suggesting that the sky had turned green and the grass blue.

After some discussion on what we’d go see, my husband suggested going to a drive-in movie. I was skeptical, just thinking that with it being a Monday night there would be no way we would find one open. However, a quick Google search not only found a drive-in close by — about a 45 minute drive for us — but one that was showing a double feature of the two movies we couldn’t decide between in the beginning! Besides all of that, the ticket prices couldn’t be beat. It was a no brainer, and a date night created.

This was my first visit to a drive in. I still remember the drive-in that was such a prominent feature in my hometown. I also remember it being torn down in the late 1980s. Today, that lot holds a nursing home, as my hometown became one of the many towns and cities in which the drive-in has disappeared.

Me and my seat at the drive-in
Me and my seat at the drive-in

With that disappearance, the experience of attending a drive-in theater has also disappeared. That’s a fact that has always made me sad, and after tonight it makes me all the more sad.

I absolutely loved watching movies sitting in chairs in the bed of my truck. Two great movies — both of which I definitely recommend, “Star Trek” and “Angels & Demons” — and great food at the concession stand. My husband insisted I take a blanket with me, which I am so glad he did… it came in handy! We snuggled up under the stars, surrounded by lightening bugs. I have to admit… it was rather romantic.

This was one of the cheapest, yet most special, date nights we’ve ever had. I can’t wait to do it again!

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Stardust Drive-In is located in Watertown, TN. A short trip into the country from Nashville, just south of Lebanon, TN.

Three strikes, times two

I have a fairly staunch rule I set into place years ago.

I don’t let random men buy me drinks in bars. I know, many just gasped in horror, but its my rule and its served me well for many years and avoided many misunderstandings.

The other night, I was at a bar in downtown Nashville, visiting with friends and watching my husband play, when a guy decided to buy me and another friend of mine a drink. Under the impression (based on the conversation, etc.) that he knew my friend, I broke my rule and went along with it in the spirit of socializing with my friends.

I felt the need to walk away, though, when he would not take me seriously when I stated that my dream in life is to be a writer and that that is indeed what I have chosen as my career. Writing apparently was not a good enough for him and he kept pestering me for a different answer, and it was on that note that I walked away. I simply walked away and visited elsewhere until he left.

It was after this that I learned that he had been making a pill of himself with ALL the ladies in the bar and he was not, in fact, an acquaintance of my friend as I had believed. If he felt himself a “player,” he’d failed miserably.

Strike one: being a pill to all. Strike two: misrepresentation. Strike three: not taking me seriously.

It is cases like this that interactions both socially and professionally can be quite the minefield. You never know when someone is going to be legitimate. And it is within this uncertainty that I made my own three strikes in my discussion with this person.

1 – They make the first move, but reveal nothing about themselves.
In my interaction with this guy, I realized he told me nothing about himself, and I told him random facts about me. I was cagey, yes, but he learned I am married, work part-time at the bar, went to Texas A&M and that my passion is writing. None of this is exactly a secret, but its still more than I learned about him. I never asked, I admit. I didn’t want to know, and I hoped my disinterest in him would make it clear he needed to leave me alone. When it didn’t, I chose to walk away. But it is within this that I realized that I knew nothing about this guy. Nothing except that I didn’t trust him…

2 – Making an assumption.
No one told me this guy was an acquaintance of my friend. I drew that conclusion based on the fact that he was talking with my friend in close proximity, bought her a drink as well, and that they knew where one another was originally from. With those facts in hand, I made an assumption.

As my Dad reminds me regularly. Never assume. It makes an ass out of you and me. Call this a lesson proven true.

3 – Breaking my own rules.
When you have those personal rules, you stick with them. Go with your gut. Even if its not the most “cool” thing to do. Your instincts are there for a reason. Listen to them. I didn’t and I broke my rule of “no strange guy buying me a drink.” My very own strike three.

This whole thing is in the past and thus not worth my time to think about… however, its also a lesson to myself that I learned and will heed in the future.