Last night I had the chance to cruise Yonge Street on a nice, clear, warmish evening just like I did when I was 17. Except that now I’m old and it was a coffee in my hand, not a mickey of Captain Morgan’s in my coat pocket and it was a Tuesday, not the weekend.

Most North American cities have some history of cruising, and Toronto is no different. As a 15 year old, I was drawn to the Yonge Street strip because there were cars. Lots of them. Sixties muscle cars, Hot Rods, mom’s wagon full of teenage girls. Of course I was a 15 year old dork, so I was on foot in those days. Sometimes walking all the way from Yorkville to Front Street and back, always stopping at the gravel parking lot at Carlton (near Maple Leaf Gardens) to check out the rods. Every now and then there would be the squeel of tires, followed by the smell of burnt rubber as a pair of beasts lit up for a short run between lights. The real drags didn’t take place downtown. In most cases they happened after midnight in the north end of the city, where it was more rural in those days.

When I was 17, I used to head down with wheels. At first it was the old man’s nasty beige 78 Dodge Monaco wagon with the fake wood panelling. Later, I took over Grandpa’s 69 Plymouth Fury II four door sedan. With it’s single throat carb feeding a feeble 318, it was no match for the 400 in the wagon but with bias ply tires it would create a hell of a smoke show. Big and green, that Fury was a blast. Occupancy record? 2 guys and 18 nursing students! Don’t ask what happened to the guy in the back, I’m sure you can imagine.

Back in those days, Freddie Mercury was still rockin’ as the front man of Queen. Last night was the opening of a new show called We Will Rock You at the Canon Theater. Above the limos and the crowds, there is a giant gold statue of Freddie looking north on Yonge Street. There are giant TV’s and elaborate LCD lighting up and down the street, but no cruisers. Just tourists and regular people going about their business, oblivious to the cruising history that surrounds them. Walking along with my cup of Starbucks, I felt strangely invigorated. Maybe it’s time to go cruising one Saturday night.

Cruisin Stangs image from Popular Mechanics