WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WENT TO THE DRIVE-IN MOVIES?

I did something so fun on Friday night, I have to tell you about it.

My neice Amanda & I went to the Galaxy Drive In Theater. It's located South of Dallas, just past Ennis off of I45, which might involve a little drive time if you live in the northern or western parts of the Metroplex, but trust me, it's worth it. The box office and concessions open at 6:30 and the first movie starts at 9. Never one to be early (as my current band will tell you!), We arrived around 8:00 and got in, got a good spot and got in and out of the concession stand in plenty of time for the start of the movie.

What a blast! I have many fond memories of drive in's growing up, as my grandfather was a movie projectionist (from the time he was in his late teens until they made him retire in his 70's) and my family went often as we got in free, but Amanda, because of her age (she's 18), had never been to a drive in. Both of us had such a great time! Megaplex multi screen box movie theaters have taken over the movie going experience these days, but there was a time in when the Drive In Theater was king. Read this bit of Texas Drive In Theater history from the web site http://www.driveinmovie.com/ :

Texas was host to the 3rd drive-in theatre to open in America, at Galveston in July of 1934 (the 1st & 2nd had opened in New Jersey and Pennsylvania), and thereafter - as in most things, Texas went at it in a BIG way .. by the late 50's,generally the peak years for American drive-ins, Texans had thebiggest peak in the industry, hosting nearly 400 outdoor theatres.
Although the state had held-out in true Alamo fashion, longer than most,and, was still harboring nearly 200 drive-in theatres even 20 years afterthe boom .. but ultimately, Texas would see their number decline by 96% and presently, there are only 16 Drive-ins operating in the Lone Star state. On an UP note: 5 of these were built or revived in the past four years, and the next .. a new twin-screen Drive-in (Lubbock) will be lit in July of 2003.

Every single thing about our experience at The Galaxy was fantastic - the ticket prices extremely inexpensive (especially for a first run double bill: $6 - adults, $2 - children 5 to 11, children under 5 free), the food was good quality and reasonably priced - a hamburger was $2 and a giant Texas sized popcorn $5.50 (and the popcorn was fresh and hot!), the facilities were clean, the classic window speakers very cool (as well as the 50's rockabilly style tunes played through them before the movies) and every person we came in to contact with was helpful and friendly. We brought bug spray, but didn't need it. And with the very mild Texas summer we're having, it was quite comfortable with the windows rolled down. We stayed in the car, but you can bring your lawn chairs or blankets and sit outside your vehicle if you like. We had so much fun, we're planning on returning very soon.

Open every night, 364 nights a year (closed on Christmas Eve), a night at the Galaxy Drive In would be a great as a family night, a night out with the girls (or boys) or a nostalgic, inexpensive (and romantic) date night.

Blue Lisa whole heartedly says check it out. http://www.galaxydriveintheater.com/

ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSING OF SAM MYERS

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the passing of Sweet Sam Myers.

Even now, it's hard to believe he's gone. But then, he truly was a larger than life personality, so even in death, he is still with so many of us everyday. I myself can't bear to delete his phone numbers from my cell phone. Occasionally when I'm scrolling through for a number, I come across his name and it makes me smile. And everytime I walk into The Hole In The Wall I still glance over to his spot by the kitchen to see if he's there. Which he's not. But to me, it's still his seat, and always will be. And I will always look for him there.

A group of us gathered yesterday at the Dixie House restaurant where Sam liked to eat to tell our Sammy stories and, well, just to be together on that day when we were all thinking about him. And what a group it was: Joe Jonas (The man I think Sam had the most respect for. How many pictures are there of Sam and Joe together hanging on walls in this town? What a amazing duo they were!), Joanna Iz (who so lovingly watched out for Sam and made sure he was taken care of, and how he loved her for it), Hash Brown (Sam often said he wished Hash was his son), Miss Marcy, Andrea Dawson, Kathy Prather, Anson (theirs was not just a remarkable musical partnership, but a remarkable friendship) and Rene Funderburgh , John Street, Jeff (who helped Sammy write his book) and Robin Horton, Ravis (who lived upstairs from Sam and made it her mission to make sure he was fed and watched out for on a daily basis), Brenda, (who slept on Sam's couch for many a night in the last months of his life watching over him), Lisa Tindell and her son Austin (Sam loved kids), and Vicky Wiley (who accompanied Sam to the Mayo clinic in the months before his death, and stayed by his side when he was, shall we say, in a less than good mood. If that doesn't qualify you as an angel, I don't know what does.) There were a couple of others who's names I didn't catch, one man who Hash told me Sam lived with for the first few months when he moved to Dallas. For sure, a group that truly loved Sam Myers the man, not just Sam Myers the musician. I think he would have been proud to see us together, but then again, he might have wondered why we didn't call more people!!

Joanna brought a picture of Sammy (smoking) so he could be with us, but I knew already that he was with us all, and in fact, had never left our hearts and never will.

I thought our little meeting would be all about Sam, but in fact, it turned out to be a chance to catch up with each other and just chat in a way you can't do when you're playing your gig or even hanging at a jam. And it dawned on me that this was one of Sammy's greatest gifts to us all, because without him, this eclectic group of friends might never have been a group at all. And I wouldn't be suprised to find out that was his plan all along.

Thanks Sam. I still love you, and miss you, every day.

Viewing & Funeral Service Infomation for Donnie Mac

Here is the viewing and funeral information for those of you who were listening to the tribute to Donnie Mac on this mornings show:

Services will be held at the Turrentine Jackson Morrow Funeral Home, located in McKinney at 75 Central Expressway @ Ridgeview Drive (Exit 38) 972-424-7834 http://www.turrentinejacksonmorrow.com/

Viewing will be held Friday, July 13 from 6 pm until 8 pm
Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 14 at 10 am