Cruising

An old time activity for passing the nights was cruising. Cruising was as simple as getting a group of friends and pilling them in a car to spend the evening together. I never fully lived in a cruising culture and yet I miss it. It seems such simple and pure fun.

I once had a teacher who spoke nostalgically of cruising. He told us they would get in that old car roll down the windows and drive. They did not need somewhere to go. That appeals to me. I feel that today everyone must be busy doing something or going somewhere in a hurry. To be driving just for joy of it.

On of my favorite movies is George Lucas’ American Graffiti; it’s a cruising movie. The film is set almost entirely at night, usually in a car and always within earshot of the car’s radio. One night after I first got my license I was driving down a large boulevard when a beautiful 1956 Chevy pulled out in front of me. I began admiring the car when I suddenly feel into the most captivating nostalgia I have ever experienced. I missed my turn and had to make the next.

The best part of cruising at night is the lighting. At night the street lights up, the streets clear and the dark hides much of the town’s flaws. Drive though an old part of town with the modern parts hidden by the night and you’ll drive into another age. Go out late enough on a large empty boulevard an you can hit all greens.