One of Aria’s friends had a roller skating birthday party
today. My afternoon was spent in a time warp.
The roller rink scene hasn’t changed much over the years. The skates are still a non-descript
Carhart-ish tan with orange wheels flashing like caution signs over the waxed
boards of the rink floor. The soundtrack still includes YMCA. Kids all dare
each other to limbo. The mirror ball and light show are met with ooohs and
aaaaahs whenever the lights dropped.
One of my greatest delights is re-experiencing my own
childhood through my daughter’s eyes. She was enchanted with skating, despite coming home
with a rug burn on her knee from a wipe-out while leaving the carpeted
area for the main floor.
There were two roller rinks in my own youth: one in Fort
Dodge (about 30 minutes from Pomeroy) and another in Prairie du Chien near my
dad’s home in McGregor. Both were heaven for me. Both were rarely visited – a huge
splurge for my family. I would go round and round until I had a blister on the
ball of my right foot from pushing off on the turns. I would ignore the pain,
skating as long as I could.
Do you remember when there were shops that sold t-shirts you
could customize with all sorts of iron-on images? I once got to pick out a sky
blue t-shirt, have a sparkly rainbow decal ironed onto the front and “Andrea”
on the back. This was my roller skating t-shirt. Nothing felt cooler than that
shirt. Nothing.
I used to have these metal roller skates that you could
strap to your regular shoes. I skated back and forth in front of my home in
Pomeroy. The sidewalk was not smooth and the skates were not very effective. My
feet fell out of them often. I loved them anyway. They felt like freedom.
This song is the roller rink personified. A bit of youth
blended with a bit of today. My favorite.
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