Sunday, December 17, 2006

Friday Night at the Roller Rink

Where can you hear Xanadu, Last Christmas and Safety Dance with the wind blowing through your hair? Where can you feel four inches taller and twenty years younger? At the Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale!!!

I felt like I was in a time warp. I laced up my rented skates, shuffled to the edge of the rink, leaned over and watched intently as people zoomed by. Eventually, I pushed myself onto the floor. The first few minutes were an exercise in getting some speed, turning without windmilling my arms and hoping that no one knocked me over.

It was seventh grade all over again. There were a handful of teenagers who looked like they'd been born on skates. They went backwards and forwards without any effort. They looked slightly bored as they skated. They knew the people who ran the rink. These kids were probably awkward and dorky outside the rink, but inside they were the coolest people.

3 comments:

junebee said...

I tried to roller skate one time a couple of years ago. My legs were so shaky I could hardly get around the rink once!

Octopus Grigori said...

Best chanchow blog post - EVER!

Anonymous said...

The Moonlight Rollerway was my Friday night hang-out in junior high! So many fond memories...
It's good to know that it hasn't changed much after nearly 20 years!