Patty Charker's Charcoal Drive-In

People who choose to dwell in the past, or worry about the future are usually very stressed out people. Many of these dwellers get diagnosed with depression or anxiety. While constantly dwelling on the past they lose what is important: living in the moment. Patty’s Charcoal Drive-in is a poem written about a girl who just got her first job. She is sixteen and college-bound and chooses to live in the moment rather than worry about her future too much. She lives freely in the moment experiencing the juiciness the world has to offer.
Crooker uses this mental state of living in the moment as a way of telling people that although we can think about the future and the past, it’s best not to dwell too deep in them that you get lost. This can be seen in lines five thru seven, “I’m sixteen and college-bound, this job’s as temporary as the summer sun, but right now, it’s the boundaries of my life”. In these lines, the main character is saying that she is college-bound which means that,

that alone should be in her thoughts every day. Also how she says that this job of hers’ is temporary and the boundary of her life. This means that her job is all she is worried about, even though she could get fired the next day, she chooses to live in the moment rather than live in the future because she knows that she doesn't need all of that added stress.
Secondly, Crooker uses imagery in describing the character's job and how living in the moment really helps you notice many things that you wouldn't normally notice.

This can be seen in lines ten thru thirteen, “I take out the silver trays and hook them on the windows, inhale the mingled smells of seared patties, salty ketchup, rich sweet malteds. The lure of grease drifts through the thick night air”. Imagery is clearly seen by the reader. You can smell the patties the salty ketchup, the rich sweet malteds, and you can see the grease drifting through the humid night air. Crooker uses imagery as a way of showing the positives in living in the moment and how it affects another's well being. This can also be seen in lines twenty-two thru twenty-four, “Doo-wop music streams from the jukebox and each night repeats itself, faithful as a steady date”. You can almost hear the music playing from a jukebox, and how every night repeats itself. There is a simile when she says “faithful as a steady

date.”
Lastly, Crooker introduces the reader to just how easy it is for your thoughts to drift to the present on lines twenty-seven thru twenty-nine, “The dark pours down, sticky as Coke, but the light from the kitchen gleams like a beacon”. In these lines, you can see the struggle to escape the sticky thoughts that want to pull you in and never let go. Everyone needs a safety buffer to keep them from falling victim to the immense hold that these thoughts have. Lucky enough for the character, her job grounds her. These lines have many literary terms, "The dark pours down..." is an example of personification, "Sticky as Coke..." and "The light from the kitchen glows like a beacon.” are both similes. Crooker hints again that the future may be uncertain in the lines thirty thru thirty-three, “A breeze comes up, chasing papers in the far corners of the darkened lot, as if suddenly a cold wind had started to blow straight at me from the future—”. In these lines we see a glimpse of the characters future thoughts surfacing but as quickly as they came they left, because this to her was enough.
In conclusion, Patty’s Charcoal Drive-in by Barbara Crooker, uses many literary devices and imagery to explain how living in the past ruins one's understanding of the world and that everyone should learn to live in the now. Experiencing things without the extra pressures that thinking about the past or future place on an individual. Live life to the fullest and be thankful for what you have. Once you have done that everything will click for you.