In 5th and 6th grade, we had roller skating parties at the the local roller skating rink. Those were good times. The DJ kept the place bumpin, and we'd all take regular skating breaks to load up on nachos or licorice.
But once I hit seventh grade, I must have grown out of my skates because I put those days behind me. And they remained behind me until just three days ago, when the Sara(h)'s and I went roller skating. Sara invited us along with her to go to a roller skating fundraiser in Detroit for a youth organization.
The rink was in the middle of one of the bad neighborhoods in Detroit. 9/10 houses were missing windows or boarded up. As we walked in the doors, we were greeted with this sign:
I was a bit nervous about roller skating. About ten years ago, I had a pretty gross roller blading accident, in which my nephew (who was riding his bike along with me) described my busted up knee as looking like spicy pepperoni. I haven't been comfortable strapping wheels to my feet ever since. But four wheels instead of two is much, much easier and wasn't difficult at all. In fact, I'm thinking about buying some roller skates - would you guys judge me?
Here are Sara and Sarah getting ready. We were all wearing stripes - a total coincidence!
We took to the rink right away. The music, I have to say, wasn't what I expected. I think it can only be described using two words: HIGHLY & INAPPROPRIATE. Let's just say, I got a real sex education listening to the music played there. I can't even get into it on here, the kinds of lyrics in those songs. I mean, I would be blushing. I'm not talking about top 40 style music, I'm talking about R&B & rap about prostitutes and strippers and stuff... That's enough about that.
I wanted to take more pictures but there was a really strict rule enforcer on the rink blowing her whistle at every turn and phones were not allowed on the rink. I'm such a rebel.
It was a super fun evening - I always have fun on my adventures with Sara and Sarah. And it was especially fun to revisit one of my favorite childhood pastimes. Anyone wanna go roller skating with me?
3 comments:
I do, i do! I love skating. I still have my roller blades. There is a roller skating rink in Adrian, we should go sometime.
I bought a pair of orange wheel, white boot skates in 2007. Yea, I found that my bottom needed a work out. It must be time to take them out again. I love it! Leg warmers, Xanadu, Shootin' the duck! I think I had 2 b-days at the Roller rink and I was devastated when it burned down and they turned it into a bowling alley.
Quick story... (I know too late)... I won the Shoot the Duck contest and thought I had won a Coat... I was drinking a soda they gave me while I waited... Yeah, welcome to soda= Coke! Gotta love the South!
Shoot the duck! Totally forgot about that.
The neighborhood, like many Detroit neighborhoods, has been hit extremely hard by the recession and foreclosure crisis. The youth council the fundraiser was for has been taking a lot of action around blight remediation in the neighborhood, and helped attract Mitch Albom's charity to hold a large event in the neighborhood for a day. They boarded up over 300 houses near the local high school so that kids don't have to walk by open abandoned houses on their way to school. Impressive efforts to push back against the tide wave of economic and community dislocation these families have faced.
Post a Comment