How about a Mustang Sally or perhaps a Little GTO

We don’t have too many people to surprise with the fact that we are about to embark on one of the greatest weekends in Bladen County. One of the featured events is this year’s classic car show and cruise. EVERY TOWN NEEDS A CRUISE! Could you imagine a cruise in a circle from Elizabethtown to White Lake and even down to Bladenboro? Outrageous.

Every once in a while, we need to look back at our past. Not to beat ourselves up or to try to live there, but to gain a perspective on how far we’ve come and to perhaps give us an insight as to the things that brought us wisdom along the journey.

I am looking at what I wrote when I first came to Wyoming some years back and how a little town persevered in the face of a global pandemic. It makes me believe that the challenges we face today can be conquered because of who we are as a community and what we’ve faced and defeated just four short years ago.

The writing dealt with our cruisin’ nights which still are near and dear to those who continue to take a spin around the block Friday nights. A chance to take the cover off and show off the hardware that is now almost 70 years old and still on the road.

“Very positive things have come forth from the midst of all the fear that this pandemic has brought upon the world. The mandated quarantines and social distancing have caused people to stretch beyond their limits. It has set free the creative and pulled back the veil upon who we really are when our backs are to the wall.

It’s caused us to look beyond borders, think out of the proverbial boxes and even caused those with the need for crazy cabin fever to color outside the lines.

And we’ve cried. We’ve worried. We’ve even feared. But our strength has been in our laughter. And in the face of this killer, we’ve reared our heads back and actually laughed out loud at the memes, the comedic responses to the quarantine and with each other. Not at each other. But with… each other.

It is said that laughter and a joyful heart is like medicine. We have learned to “dose” each other with a levity that defies the sorrow.

The people of our county have thrown up ideas with excitement instead of throwing up their hands in desperation. And if you look closely you will see sleeves rolled up and the heart of this people ready to work.

One such idea that brought fun and a road trip out of stagnation was The Cruise Friday nights in downtown. The idea was thrown out by a local entrepreneur who just wanted to have a time to get away from the realities and rigors of life – if only for a few hours.

“It was an idea I saw on a post from another friend who owns a business in Kansas,” this woman said. “We start every Friday night at 7 p.m. and it goes for about an hour. We go up and down South Street like most of us did in high school.”

The downtown floods with ‘50s and ‘60s crusin’ music, the pace is slow… sometimes engines rev, but around and around they go – waving to friends who have lined the streets to watch and smiling at amazed tourists who question, “This happens every Friday night?”

The grassroots parade then turns onto Water Street and then back to South Street via 10th street. There are no rules besides obviously safe driving and staying in your vehicle to maintain social distancing, she mentions.

“We plan on every Friday night until it fizzles out, I guess,” Vineyard said and continues with a laugh, “it was just an idea to get people out and socialize safely. This was our entertainment in the ‘80s and it was our parent’s entertainment in the ‘50s.

The participants cruising included a large number who owned restored cars and trucks. The feedback about the memories it brought back was been overwhelming. People came from all over the county to participate, and even in the face of high gas prices, it’s an incredible idea at an infamous time.

“It’s a way to bring our community together safely during a time of uncertainty,” she said.

And in this time of uncertainty, when adversity whispers into our ears to give up and die, we refuse to have a funeral procession. We have, however decided to have a parade.

Bravo. To quote the Harry Richman song title, ‘I LOVE A PARADE.’”

Mark DeLap is a journalist, photographer and the editor and general manager of the Bladen Journal. To email him, send a message to: mdelap@bladenjournal.com