Chapter 2: The Lion Roars

It is entirely possible, however, that what Vincent B. Daniel grew up to be was a direct result of cracking his shell in a drive-in theater. His upbringing was normal. There was the "Carver Point Shopper" paper route, there were food fights in the Jefferson Elementary School cafeteria, there was his .292 lifetime Little League batting average. But there was also one constant: the movies.

For his seventh birthday, Duane and Charlene bought him a bicycle. That night, the owner of the Thunderbird Drive-In marked off a special spot on row eight for young Vincent, now known as V. B. Local farmers around the county started to set their sunset calendars by the rattling sounds of his straw-covered cycle spokes, as the young film fanatic sped down the sidewalks of town on his way to Double Feature Friday. V. B. won Jackpot Bingo on his first night, and earned a lifetime pass that got dog-eared in a matter of three short months.

V. B. was a model student and citizen, barely cracking a book to get straight A's. He'd hurry home from school and do his homework right after school, keeping one eye on his books and the other on the "Million Dollar Movie" on Channel Nine. He did a science project on measuring the force of a Bruce Lee kick by triangulating how far the victim flew backwards after the punch.

He stole away to the movies on every possible occasion. By age eight, he was on a first-name basis with the owner of the elegant local moviehouse, the Carver Point Rialto. By age ten, he had an open pass to the concession stand at theaters all around the area, doing odd jobs and fixing projectors in exchange for admission. By 12, he was negotiating distribution deals on behalf of the theater owners, securing extra trailers and right of first-refusal on sneak previews. By 15, he was taking girls with him...and seeing the same film twice. First, as a movie buff. Second, as a necking buff. Parents loved him, though, since he always got their daughters home by 11:30. Little did they know he was just aiming to catch the midnight airing of Dr. Blood's Creature Feature on Channel Twelve.

Senior year was a high point, when at the tender age of 17, he waged a state-wide campaign to keep the faltering Thunderbird open for business, even procuring a small grant and letter of endorsement from the Georgia State Legislature. He also gave the Valedictorian's Address at Carver Point High's graduation, entitled "In the Darkness, The Lion Roars." The uninformed thought he was prophesying about the anxious expectations and powerful possibilities of a young person's future. Friends and family knew V. B. was describing an MGM movie he'd seen the night before.

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