(Contributed by Beverly Rivera)

So on Monday nights we would all pile into the car, as many of us kids as we could. We would go to the Market Street Drive-In and for a buck - just one dollar - you could get a whole car load of kids into the movies. That's when having a station wagon would have come in very handy. We didn't, but we could usually squeeze in about three kids in the front ( no bucket seats at this time) and four in the back.

When you got there you would find a choice spot near the bathroom and snack bar. Everybody would pile out of the car and take a leisurely stroll around to see who was there that night. If you were lucky it would be your friends, and if you weren't, it would be some mean, tuff girls that wanted to beat you or your friend up for some unknown reason. So you had a choice to make: either you took your chances and prayed you could find one of your friends who was bigger and tougher than the mean kids, or hope you didn't have to go the the bathroom all night - and stay in the car!

There was a playground in the front of the Drive-In and when we were younger and would come to the movies with our parents (usually my mother - my father didn't care to much for movies ). We would play and swing until it got dark and the movie would start. As soon as it would get dark you would have to beat the mosquitoes off of you and - you know the summer heat in Houston - pray for a cool breeze to come through the open car windows.

Sometimes we would take folding lawn chairs and set them next to the car, close to the speaker that you had to put in the drivers side window, and rub down with OFF insect repellant. This wasn't too pleasant because it was so oily and stinky, but it kept the mosquitoes off of you and it would be so much cooler sitting outside.

We always loved going to the Drive-In on Monday nights, so we could play on the playground and take our friends when we could. As we got older it turned into a meeting place where you could meet your friends and boyfriends.

We had lots of fun at the old Market Street Drive-In. I'm sure it has bit the dust like so many drive-ins have, but we still have our memories and will never forget the Monday nights that we spent there.