Cruising

I was cruising this afternoon.


.
 I have cruised in other ways.

I am, of course, referring to the the idle driving up

 and down main street of my North American 

hometown on a Saturday night in whatever

vehicle my father let me have for the night,  and

with about as just as much gas as it would take to

get  me to where I said I was going and home

again, unless I hadn't doubled backed and filled

up  at the obligatory farm fuel outlet known as the

''Gas Tanks" situated on the edge of the far trees.



  More purple (1) gas was burned on a Saturday

night than by any tractor on any fields that  were

cultivated, seeded, harrowed or plowed all during

the week.

 As I got older I have to admit that I did a bit of

 'cruisin'' in bars other than the gas

type  during my university years and beyond.

But the type of cruising that I am referring to

today is the type that hearkens to the open road,

the carefree touch of a button and 'zoom zoom'

you are driving over  the horizon with only  the

rare speed  zone sign triggering the quick tap

on  the brake followed by the  hopeful  adequate

coast allowing one to have slowed within the

correct parameters of  town requirements.

Today's motivation for cruising was far  more primal.

Speed On!   Soundless wee beastie  having succumbed ,  stretched sightless and smelly since being stroked softly by the soles of a  shoe until  suddenly shaken  by  scurrilous and scandalous screams of someone surprised by the squishy sluggishness of such a soulless symbol of the unsanitary and  the insane  

 (1) Purple gas refers to gas that has a purple dye added to it.  Farmers could use Purple Gas for agricultural purposes only and then used the receipts for income tax deductions.  That was why most farmers had their own tanks of farm fuel located near the home quarter.   The only difference between Purple gas and gas bought from the gas station in town was the color.  About once a year there would be a Purple Gas Blitz where RCMP officers would syphon gas from cars parked around town to make sure there were no 'Gas Abusers'.  As I recall the principal of the school got caught for "Purple Gas"...I don't think many of his students were surprised.