One of my jobs while I was going to school was working at the Trail Drive In in Bradenton. I started out in the snack bar. We had a gas popcorn popper that made the best popcorn, a griddle for hamburgers, a pizza oven and a fryer for everything else including the hot dogs. Somehow, we managed to burn a pizza every night. That was some good burnt pizza. I was later promoted to assistant manager. They called me assistant manager so they didn’t have to pay me by the hour. I worked 4 nights a week including Friday and Saturday. On the two week nights I worked, I had to close which meant I had to stay to the end of the last movie. We would play two movies and then replay the first movie. I might not leave until after 1 am and still had to make a run to the night deposit. Suffice it to say, that at $50 dollars a week, I wasn’t making the minimum wage of $2.00 per hour. Despite the poor pay, it was one of the most fun jobs I ever had. It was a constant battle to catch sneak ins and I was good at it.

With my history with drive ins, I was saddened when the last drive in in Tampa, was flattened by Hurricane Milton. The Ruskin Family Drive In promised to rebuild. I gave to their Go Fund Me to help. They still had to sell one of their refurbished carbon arc projectors which was a real museum piece. It has been owned and run by the same family since the 1950s. And they have done it. They are reopening This Friday, March 7 with all new steel poles with a new screen, all new fencing, a refurbished marquee and a fresh coat of paint on everything. Life is good.