There are several great things about living in the Center of the Universe, as Niles, Michigan is commonly known. I live within a leisurely stroll from downtown. I also live next door to my three year old grandson, who enjoys taking his Poppa’s hand and going for a walk downtown. It is one of my greatest pleasures to take that little kid to River Front Park and watch him swing, climb slide, and let loose with one of his “scriggles” – best translated as a screaming giggle; a child’s laughter in its most unrestrained form.

Our traditional end to an afternoon of playing in the park is to walk up Main Street to The Paris and top off the day with a scoop of ice cream while sitting at the window table and watching people walk by.

It doesn’t get any better than that — except on Wednesday evenings in the summer. The Bring IT Cruise In and Car Show takes over downtown Niles — and I do mean TAKES OVER. Main Street is cordoned off from Second Street to Fifth Street, including a block in each direction, north and south. Classic cars, muscle cars, dragsters, motorcycles, and some very unique one of a kind motorized creations line both sides of all seven blocks. People fill the streets. The smoky haze and enticing aroma of brats and burgers sizzling on grilles fill the air. The pulsing beat of a live band playing two of the best sounds in music (Rock AND Roll) fill the ears and puts a bounce in the step of everyone who attends the best mid-week party in all of Michiana. Pizzas are available by the slice or by the pie from Third Street, Pizza Transit, and Massimo’s. The Nugget and the Backside bar are filled with folks just having a great time. It doesn’t get any better than that – and this happens every Wednesday evening in the summer.

Last week, with the last car show of the summer on our mind, my grandson and I abandoned our trek to the park and headed straight up the Main Street hill. Of course, we had to stop at the Paris and get our bowls of ice cream first (I am a fan of the way that little kid thinks).

Following one brat and one burger from the grille outside the Olfactory Hue Bistro, and two scoops of ice cream from The Paris, we fell in with a few hundred of the greatest people you would ever want to meet. All of us were admiring, reminiscing, and sometimes drooling over some of the finest metal to ever grace the United States Interstate Highway System. We stopped next to a 1965 Mustang and I got to point, puff up my chest, and say “Poppa used to drive a car like that.” My grandson’s eyes grew as big as the sundae cups at The Paris.

The evening wound down, trophies were awarded, and the band played their final song. As my grandson and I made our way back home — he was definitely getting tired, but the fading refrains of the last song of the evening fueled the memories of my youth and put a nostalgic bounce in my step — I asked him if he had a good time.

“No,” was his uncharacteristically quiet reply, followed by a huge yawn.

Incredulously, I had to know why.

“Because we’re leaving,” he said sleepily.

If you want to be a part of one of the best mid-week parties in Michiana, next summer grab someone’s hand — your wife’s, your husband’s, your girlfriend’s, your boyfriend’s, or maybe someone you just met and would like to get to know better — and take a stroll up and down Main Street in Niles on a Wednesday evening. It doesn’t get any better than that.

 

Larry Wilson is a mostly lifelong resident of Niles. His optimistic “glass full to overflowing” view of life shapes his writing. His essays stem from experiences, compilations and recollections from friends and family. Wilson touts himself as “a dubiously licensed teller of tall tales, sworn to uphold the precept of ‘It’s my story; that’s the way I’m telling it.’” He can be reached at wflw@hotmail.com.