A blast from the past: cruising

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itting in the back seat of our jeep, cruising down Main Street, with ’90’s music blasting from the stereo was how I spent last Saturday night. The quarantine cruise down Main, organized by Newcastle’s Garrett Borton, was a blast from the past for many in the town, including my parents. 
My parents have told me many times of their high school weekend evenings spent cruising Main Street with gobs of other high schoolers. My mom and her friend would get all dressed up, load up in their car and drive off toward the cruise route, making sure to bring hair spray to freshen up their hair later. 
But I had never experienced any cruising myself because it has apparently fizzled out in the past decade or so. But Saturday night, my parents had my brother and I load up in the jeep so that they could show us firsthand what some of their high school fun looked like. 
Of course, the quarantine version was a bit different from when my parents used to enjoy the recreation. Back in their high school days, cruising evenings still held quite a bit of social interaction. They’d see their friends driving and pull over to talk to them or load up together in one car. The quarantine, however, consisted of only waving and honking. 
What did I think of the experience? Well, just in reference to the cruising, it was a unique experience, that’s for sure. While my parents seemed to be completely in their element, and my brother seemed to quickly warm up to the idea, I was a little skeptical of the point of cruising. But I did eventually warm up to the idea too, and I’m happy to report that it was actually pretty fun. 
However, what was really cool to me was that, even through this quarantine and social distancing, Newcastle still found a way to recreate as a community. That was even more enjoyable than the blast from the past, and I was extremely impressed with the sense of community felt through the occasion. 
Way to stick together, Newcastle!