Although the weather hasn't figured it out yet, we're about two weeks into spring here on good old Long Island, with Easter Sunday just a few days away. And even though there's a threat of one more little hit of snow tonight, I can tell that winter's grip is gone, and before you know it, we'll be enjoying going outdoors without having to bundle up like Nanook of The North!
Of course, this is the time of year those of us who are 'car guys' start to get the itch to get out and 'cruise' with the old cars, going to club meets, car nights at local restaurants, and taking the classics out on the road for a nice long spin.
For me, Easter Sunday is always the start of the season. Oh, I might take the Yellowfish out for a short ride before that day, get it all cleaned up and shiny, make sure the gas tank is full and everything is working (or at least trying to work), so that it's all ready for the debut event, the Garden City Chamber of Commerce Easter Car Show and Parade.
This one's sort of special to me, all of you know that I grew up in Garden City, and worked there for many years. Even though it's been 14 years since I decided to change careers, I still have ties to the community, and plenty of great memories from the time spent there. So taking the old car over to the old "A&S" parking lot, and hanging around there for a couple of hours is pretty fun. I think the Village used to put a limit on the number of cars that they'd let the Chamber register for this event, since it does take a pretty good amount of work, time, and resources to manage it, but the last couple of years, boy, there sure seem to be an awful lot of cars there! And all kinds of cars too, from Model T's, Packards, lots of early cars; plenty of 40's and 50's American cars, Chevy's, Fords, Mercury's, Cadillacs, the really great looking, big chrome bumper cars - not my thing, but I can sure appreciate them. And of course, plenty of Corvettes, Mustangs, GTO's, and the rest of the great 60's muscle cars, as well as the more 'pedestrian' rides, Darts, Valiants, etc.
And you can enjoy yourself just strolling along checking out all the cars, or stop and chat with the owners, we all love talking about our rides, where we got 'em, why we like the particular model, what we've done to them, past cars we've had. It isn't hard to get a typical 'car guy' to open up!
There's usually some entertainment going on, maybe a banjo group, or someone playing guitar and singing. Food carts roll along, offering up hot dogs, pretzels, sodas, etc., and a lot of the shops are open, so you can pick up something to eat there. it's a fun morning, from about 10 am until 12:45 pm or so, when the fun really begins.
Around 12:45, you hear the wonderful sound of engines firing up, as we all get ready for the parade portion of the day. At 1 pm, the Police open up the north exit of the parking lot, and the several hundred cars start pulling out single file in what ends up being a verrrrrry long parade line! Out to Franklin Ave. we go, turning south towards the middle of town; the sidewalks are lined with spectators, in some places 8 or 10 people deep - this is a CROWD! Kids in strollers, seniors in lawn chairs, people with pooch dogs sitting on the curb, all with smiles on their faces as these great old cars roll down the street, turning the clock back to a day when their appearance was commonplace. Many of us bring bags of lollipops and candy with us, and toss them out to the kids along the route, who scramble excitedly to scoop up the loot.
Down Franklin Avenue we go, past Stewart Avenue, to Seventh Street, where the sidewalks are REALLY crowded! My God, it's like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade! They're jammed from curb to storefront, shoulder to shoulder, not a vacant 'space' anywhere on the sidewalk. Kids on shoulders of parents, cameras everywhere capturing the great old rides, people shouting and cheering when they see an old favorite, maybe a ride they once wished they could have, but never got to own.
About halfway down the street, I remember what my buddy Mike McCormack, who worked with me at the Garden City Pool a lifetime ago, once said. We were at the GC Homecoming parade, and he turned to me and said, 'You know, for such an upscale, kind of snooty town, you look at this homecoming parade, and it could be Dubuque Iowa for all you'd know. It's Mom and Dad and their kids walking up "main street" in anytown USA'.
That always registered with me, because way back when I was just a kid, Garden City DID seem like 'anytown USA'; everyone knew everyone else, and regardless of whether your parents were rich, or struggling to hang on, when it came to stuff like Little League parades, the Memorial Day parade and fair, and yes, homecoming, it sure looked and felt a lot like it was just a nondescript small town someplace out in the midwest.
And during the Easter car parade, that feeling is palpable - it's like the whole damn Village turned out for no reason other than 'everyone will be there'.
Up Seventh Street we go, west towards the Library and GC Hotel, crowds all along the sidewalk. Then we cross over Hilton Avenue, and .......it's over. As quickly as we were into the crowds at the start of the parade, we're out of them. Couple of GC Police directing traffic, maybe a few old cars that had problems during the parade on the side of the road, but that's it, all done and gone for another year. Total time driving the route? Probably 10 to 15 minutes at most. What it felt like? A couple of hours. Just pure fun, smiles and laughter, all the rotten little issues of life gone for a brief period; escape for a while. And the knowledge that this parade was just the first in a spring and summer long series of rides, 'cruise nights', and trips in our old cars. which are, in their own unique way, sort of time machines that transport us to places we've been, that flood us with memories of our past days, and which give us the hope that each spring brings that the coming months will be as warm and as sweet as they were when we were kids.
See you Sunday in GC!
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