Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll

Does anyone else miss rollerskating? I couldn't help but get sucked into Roll Bounce when it came on last night. It was late, and I refused to miss the latest ep of Ghost in the Shell, so I taped the second half so I could watch the rest of it later.

The next town over had a skating rink when I was growing up called "The Rink." It's been closed for about twenty years and is now some sort of wholesale curtain warehouse, but the old sign is still there, quotation marks included.

Transportation was always something of a hassle so rollerskating was confined mostly to birthday parties at "The Rink" and skate parties held at my elementary school now and again. I'd like to say I rocked my rented skates out at those events with a grace and skill that awed my classmates, but not falling down was a good day for me.

Actually, my skating ability vastly improved after I spent a season on the cross country ski team in middle school, but rollerskating wasn't cool anymore in my crowd by then.

The next time I went rollerskating was on my 19th birthday with a friend from down the hall in my dorm. Disco music has always been the auditory equivalent of comfort food to me, so I had a great time. Though my skills were still pretty low, I didn't slide around in uncertain jerky steps. I committed myself to the motion, picking up speed, doing the leg over leg crossover on the end curves.

Why not get some rollerblades and hit the streets, you may be asking. My idea of stopping is still heading towards a rail I can grab onto. Anything other than level in incline or surface texture is probably beyond my last known skill level. If someone had been renting skates or rollerblades on the boardwalk last fall, I would've tried it (I was disappointed no one was), but I also would've hoped for some knee pads.

The last time I went skating was on a date in grad school. Again, I really enjoyed it; I should've gone back even though he was gone for the summer, and I didn't know anyone else who'd want to go. If there were a skating rink near me now, I'd go by myself and try out some rollerblades. Too bad I'm between 5.5 and 20 years too late.


A year ago on TTaT: There's no doubt