Nightlife In Cda

Thirty-four minutes in the life of Coeur d’Alene’s downtown:

8:28 p.m. Wednesday — The corner of Fifth and Sherman is the center of Coeur d’Alene’s cruise world.

The sun is setting. Tourists in various shades of summer shirts, shorts and skirts meander up and down Sherman gazing into the mostly closed stores.

A blond teenager sits behind the corner of a building. He’s sitting on the ground. He looks nervously both ways before puffing on a cigarette.

A very tall youth with long black hair and a chain hanging off his pants walks the sidewalk with his friend. The friend wears a knit hat and black trench coat.

They yell out when they see a friend driving down Sherman.

The friend pulls over his blue Jeep, with fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror, and the three young men talk.

“I’ll catch up with you. I’ll be up there,” the Jeep driver calls out.

A Coeur d’Alene police officer appears, walking the opposite side of Sherman. The two guys in black turn and walk toward Fourth Street.

The crowd at the corner of Fifth and Sherman is a group of eight young men — we’ll call them the Standing Eight.

Most are dressed in T-shirts and are smoking. They range in age from 14 to 24. They sit on a bench, newspaper box or anything else that is convenient.

8:32 p.m. — A Chevy Baretta eases past with his car stereo bass booming out a hip rap tune. Another group passes by and shouts at the standing eight.

8:37 p.m. — Foot traffic slows along Sherman except for a couple, dressed in casual but expensive clothes, who see something interesting in a closed antique shop.

The 40-something couple walk along the windows heading for the standing eight. They steal a quick look at the group of boys.

The couple turn and study the menu of Cricket’s Steakhouse and Oyster Bar. They take one last look at the boys and enter the restaurant.

8:43 p.m. — A truck known to one of the standing eight pulls up to a stop at the light. One of the group goes out into the street to talk to the driver. Their conversation lasts into the green light. A second pickup has to wait until the talking is done. The second driver doesn’t seem to mind.

8:44 p.m. — A family of rubberneckers, who seem to have “tourist” stamped on their foreheads, meander past the closed antique shop. The parents, in shorts and overly tight collared shirts, stop to mull over something interesting.

Their two young boys look nervously over at the standing eight. One of the tourist boys is sporting a loud tropical shirt.

8:46 p.m. — A pair of girls dressed in tight shirts and jeans catch the attention of the standing eight. The boys turn away and act disinterested as the girls turn their backs and cross Sherman.

Then the boys cat call at the girls as they disappear down the street.

8:48 p.m. — The standing eight is down to four. The same officer comes walking toward what’s left of the group.

He opens his car door. He gazes over his shoulder at the group. He starts his car, waits and slowly pulls away from the curb even though there is no traffic.

8:51 p.m. — The guy in the Jeep with the fuzzy dice is back. He now has a friend in the passenger seat. They roll slowly by the four left on the corner and don’t stop.

8:57 p.m. — One out of three cars passing on Sherman have stereos cranked loud enough to hear across the street.

An elderly group comes out of the steak and oyster bar. They stand for a minute outside the restaurant, talking quietly and stealing looks at the group on the corner.

The patrons then turn away, walking while they pick their teeth.

9 p.m. — Three cars in a row pass by with all girls inside. The fourth car is being driven by a teenage boy who can barely see over the steering wheel. Two girls are in the car with him. The cruise has started in earnest.

9:02 p.m. — The same Jeep with the fuzzy dice pulls up and the driver joins the standing eight, who again are at full strength.