Arnold’s Drive-In, New Toronto

Fast Food Improv

Juke Box Saturday Night

With all of this talk of Farmers Markets in previous posts, a nod here to the fast food industry.

Arnold’s, just west of the downtown in New Toronto, represents not only the Golden Age of family eateries, but also, with its recently being closed and subsequently rather poorly boarded up, it also represents the current trend toward ‘condo-ization’ of the the Greater Toronto Area. The ever-inventive slogans on the the condo billboards around town are more likely to make you nauseous than the burgers flipped and served up in a joint like this ever would have.

Sure, I admit I only stopped at Arnold’s twice in 10 years: once to grab a quick burger and shake, and more recently to step inside the burned-out shell of the place.

The more recent of the two back in the summer was a spontaneous pit stop during a mysterious, fog-enshrouded drive back from teaching by Lake Ontario in Port Credit. With several police cars and lights flashing just up on the Lakeshore, and shadowy figures walking by past the misted-up windows pictured here, I set up to play. I realized afterwards as I was pulling out of the deserted parking lot, it was a good thing the cops were so preoccupied nearby, as I was able to proceed without detection!

An improvised duo for broken glass and flute (not the first for UrbanFlute), and a rather lame flute-rendition of Jukebox Saturday Night for your drive-thru listening pleasure!