Sample Articles: April - June 2008

Memories - 75 Years of Outdoor Movies

W.E. Reinka

“The movie wasn’t so hot
It didn’t have much of a plot
We fell asleep our goose is cooked
Our reputation is shot.”
“Wake up Little Susie”

When the Everly Brothers hit the top of the pop and country charts in 1957 with “Wake Up Little Susie,” drive-in movies were so entrenched in American culture that even though the song never mentions “car” or “drive-in,” listeners understood immediately that the teenage sweethearts had fallen asleep at the drive-in.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the first drive-in theater. Richard Hollingsworth, Jr. experimented with the concept by setting a Kodak projector on the hood of his car and aiming it at a bed sheet in his backyard. He stuck a radio behind the screen for sound. After fine tuning his experiment, the first drive-in theater opened outside Camden, NJ in June of 1933.
Drive-in movie popularity grew slowly, until the Baby Boom got into full swing after World War II. To attract young moms and dads, many drive-ins let kids in for free. Parents got an outing and saved babysitting money. They could smoke and talk in their cars. Babies could cry. Competing for the family market, drive-ins added playgrounds, miniature golf and pony rides. Sources differ on the numbers but thousands of drive-ins popped up nationwide in the 40s and 50s.
Nowadays little kids still wear pjs to the drive-in for the same reason Mom dressed me in them before we piled into Dad’s ‘49 Ford. No way will tykes stay awake through a double or triple feature.
Providing privacy for teenagers back when stay-at-home moms made after school trysts difficult, added to the drive-ins’ market and earned them the sobriquet “passion pits.” (“What will we tell our friends when they say ‘Ooh, la la?”) When a girl’s blocking elbow beeped the horn, it often triggered a tooting return chorus.
The Harmony, PA Drive-In found that 50 spaces suited its needs. In Florida the Ponce De Leon Drive-In got by with 60. In contrast, the Panther Drive-In in Lufkin, TX made room for 3,000. Big city suburbs from Timonium, MD to Long Beach, CA sported huge lots capable of handling over 2,000 cars. Eventually land values in urban areas could not sustain huge lots shut down half of the year by weather. Most remaining drive-ins today are in rural areas.
These days many “ozoners” back their mini-vans or pick-ups into spaces rather than watch out the windshield. Parents unfold lawn chairs, while kids plop mattresses in the pick-up bed or snuggle into sleeping bags to watch out of the open back of the minivan. Another change is that the soundtrack usually comes via a local FM circuit. A boom box works best with the reverse car orientation and saves car battery juice. Unfortunately, FM eliminates the entertaining spectacle of watching someone drive off with the speaker still attached to the window!
Drive-in theaters may never return to their former popularity, but they’re so darn much fun that the remainders seem to be thriving. Long lines form at the Milford, NH drive-in. The Capri Drive-In in Coldwater, MI offers hotel packages to aficionados who travel long distances on their drive-in pilgrimages. Out here in the West, our two college kids insist that we drive 90 minutes to our nearest drive-in several times each summer.
Maybe I’ll start wearing pj’s again. I’m usually asleep by the time one of the kids drives us home.
Comments to author, W.E. Reinka at wereinka@ix.netcom.com
Publisher’s Note: Arizona still has drive-ins: from the smallest, Apache Drive-In off Highway 60 (still one screen and some pole speakers!), to the largest in Arizona, Glendale 9 Drive-in (must have FM on your car radio!). In between is the Scottsdale Drive-in with a half a dozen screens and a big bag of popcorn is just $4. Would you believe that there are even two new Drive-ins now under construction? If I am looking for memories and how it used to be.….I think, I will go to the Apache!

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New Technology Helps Those With Strokes and Brain Injuries

Beth Ladd, MS, CCC-SLP

Speech therapy for those with brain injury and stroke has changed a lot in the last decade. Traditional methods of intervention are still widely used, but newer technologies are gaining in popularity. One of those technologies is Parrot Software®, a computer based treatment program for people who have difficulty with communication and/or cognition.
How does it work? Parrot Software® is divided into several different areas of treatment: cognitive reasoning, word recall, reading, vocabulary/grammar, memory/attention, and functional skills. While some people may benefit from working in all of the above areas, others may need to focus on a single topic.
Each treatment area is divided into several programs that apply to specific tasks. For example, the area of cognitive reasoning is broken down into sub-categories such as cause and effect, problem solving, logical thinking, and situational reasoning. Within each sub-category is a series of lessons designed to increase in difficulty as progress is made. Lessons are based on a question-answer format using words, pictures, or both.
One added bonus to the Parrot Software® program is that progress across lessons is tracked on a bar graph or table. Information on accuracy and speed of response time is displayed to provide visual feedback and encouragement. Another bonus is that the lessons are presented in both written and verbal forms. That way everyone’s individual learning style is addressed.
What do Parrot users say? Many people enjoy using the computer in speech therapy because it represents a functional task they are familiar with doing at home or work. They also find Parrot Software to be very hands on and interactive. Immediate feedback and being able to track progress over time are also very popular features.
Technology has become a part of our everyday lives. And now, in the form of Parrot Software®, it’s another therapeutic tool we can use in speech therapy to improve communication and cognition.
For more information about products that may aid in recovery from
certain neurological conditions, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, spinal injuries or amputations, please call
HEALTHSOUTH Scottsdale Rehabilitation Hospital at
480-551-5447. 

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Some Products Can Make Living With Arthritis Easier

Nancy Wilkstrom

Today’s tamper-resistant packaging, child-proof bottles and unwieldy kitchen tools often leave us wondering why a company would make such an “unfriendly” product. Of course they serve a purpose, but many people — especially the nearly 46 million Americans with arthritis — ache to find easy-to-open medications and household or office products that simply make daily tasks less painful and more manageable.
Recognizing the need for easy-to-use products, the Arthritis Foundation created its Ease-of-Use Commendation Program to encourage manufacturers to keep people with arthritis in mind when designing products. There are currently nearly 90 products in the program.
In addition to being tested at the Georgia Tech Research Institute by experts in universal design, all products receive hands-on testing by people who actually have arthritis. Once a product receives a passing evaluation, it then becomes eligible for the program.
When it comes to chores like laundry, simply loading and unloading clothes can prove too hard for people with arthritis. Whirlpool’s Duet washers and dryers received the Arthritis Foundation Ease-of-Use commendation for easier access for loading, unloading and filling dispensers. Optional pedestals offer optimal ergonomic access while reducing bending.
Housework, like vacuuming, and cleaning bathrooms and kitchens, can also be made easier thanks to Ease-of-Use products. The Oreck XL® upright vacuums can ease the strain on hands and wrists, and make it much easier to keep carpets clean. When it comes to scrubbing those problem areas around the house, SonicScrubbers® hand-held household cleaning products can reduce the amount of effort it takes.
The next time you’re shopping, be sure to look for the Arthritis Foundation Ease-of-Use commendation.
You can learn more about other products in the Arthritis Foundation Ease-of-Use program by visiting www.arthritis.org/ease-of-use-new.php or by calling your local chapter at 602-264-7679.
Arthritis Foundation Greater Southwest Chapter is pleased to announce Salute to Summer’s End - An evening to benefit children with Arthritis! The event takes place September 27, 2008 - 6:00 pm., Chaparral Suites, Scottsdale. For more information or to reserve your seat, please contact Melissa Brauer at mbrauer@arthritis.org or call 602-212-9913.

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Mama Jo's Meals In Minutes

Fusion Chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small onion, chopped
2 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup mild green tomatillo salsa
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken strips in the skillet, and sprinkle with the red wine vinegar. Season with 1/2 the pepper, 1/2 the oregano, 1/2 the garlic powder, and 1/2 the nutmeg. Cook 5 minutes. Turn and season with remaining pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and nutmeg. Place the cilantro, onion, and apples over the chicken in the skillet. Cover, and continue cooking 5 minutes, until chicken juices run clear and apples are slightly tender. Heat the tomatillo salsa in the microwave 2 minutes on high, or until heated through. Pour over the cooked chicken and apples. Serve over cooked rice or burrito-style, wrapped with rice inside warmed tortillas.

Refreshing Lemonade Pie
1 graham cracker or vanilla wafer piecrust
1 can condensed milk                       
1 small can frozen lemonade mix
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 small carton Cool Whip (thawed)
Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature and lemonade mix to thaw slightly.  With electric mixer, blend condensed milk and cream cheese until smooth.  Add lemonade mix and blend well.  Fold in Cool Whip.  Pour into piecrust and refrigerate several hours, preferably overnight.  Garnish with a very thin slice of lemon and a mint leaf.