Among the GTOs, Camaros, Mustangs, and the surplus of Army Jeeps, one vehicle was extra special to myself: a yellow and black striped 1975 Pontiac Firebird, as this was the car that I drove in Frostburg's Cruisin' Main Street held on Thursday, September 3.  For one night, Frostburg's historic Main Street was home to some of the automotive industry's most famous cars, like the 1959 Chevy Pickup and the DeLorean, made famous in the 1985 film, Back to the Future.

When I stepped into the all-black interior of the Firebird, it felt different, somewhat archaic, compared to the current generation of cars. I was told that these older cars "aren't like the new ones" by my father, who loaned me the car.  (However, it felt more like I commandeered it).  He added one peculiar thing: "You have to push the drive into gear past the 'D' button on the driveshaft."  I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now it seemed like a theme of the entire night for the event.

As I turned the key in the Firebird, the pistons rumbled, causing the car to vibrate ferociously like a bull during a rodeo.  Grasping the oblong ball on top of the shifter and locking it down to the "D" position, I did not feel the car go into gear.  I tried again; no such luck.  On the third time, I pushed the gear through the positions, and, suddenly, a jolt rocketed through the front seats, as finally the car was in drive.  Merging in front of a truck, (more like a monster truck with two smoke stacks and tires as tall as me), I was now a part of the cruise.  Driving through the cruise, in any car, is the best way to get an actual feel of what the event was all about. It was an exploration of America.  The car, the road, and the power felt--this is why Americans cling to their mechanical dragons more than even guns, money or any other passion.

Kids screamed and roared as the Firebird and other classic cars from the 1960s and as far back as the 1930s drove the loop from Sheetz back up to the Tastee Freez.  The trip, which usually took five minutes-two minutes if you hit all the lights-became a long forty minute drive that reminded me of the road trips to nowhere I went on with my parents just to explore the open roads of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  Parked in the car wash across from Amoco was a two-and-a half-ton Army truck from Jeff's Towing, housing screaming teens cheering on every passing car that spun its tires until white smoke concealed the auto.

Revving the engine with every stop and feeling the car jerk back and forth like a boat on the ocean made not only the crowd, but myself, feel good.  The night was an occasion to celebrate the mechanical marvels of yesteryear and to just have a good time.  Everyone was there for the same reason, and anytime a group of like-minded individuals, no matter their religious, ethnic, or any other affiliation, comes together, it makes for a good time.  Frostburg's Cruisin' Main Street was a perfect example of this, as the bands American Pie and The Chinese Bandits played at Mountain Ridge High School and Broadway respectively.  The Crick Rats, traveling along the street on the FrostburgFirst mobile ramp, epitomized the event with their matching Blues Brothers suits, howling 50s tunes into buildings that saw these cars when they were just off the showroom floor, and now as vintage machines.