Remembering...The Roller Rink!

Remembering...The Roller Rink!
On
April 15, 2009
Ever hear a particular song that brings back memories? Whether you actually like the song or not, I'm sure we all have songs that, as soon as we hear them, we remember a certain time or place in our lives.

One song that always stirs up nostalgia for me is "Apache" by the Sugar Hill Gang from way back in 1981! This song always reminds me of my early teens and my trips to the Elsmere, Delaware roller skating rink. I remember how pumped up people would get when they played this song at the rink, and how much faster everyone would skate....hey!...this was the "cool" song at the time! Lol! "High-ho Silver is what I say"!


Elsmere skating rink was just a short walk down the railroad tracks from my house. I don't think that for today's young teens going to the roller rink is as cool as it used to be, but back in the day, it sure was the place to be. This place was sooooo much fun...the music, the disco lights, the girls, and, of course, the skating!


First you had to pick your skates......and it wasn't a very attractive collection of skates to choose from....


Hungry? Check out the roller rink snack bar! There you could find cardboard tasting triangles they called "pizza"....Or perhaps you would rather have an old wrinkled dark green thing they called a "hot dog"! Yummy! Thankfully, they at least had soda!


There always was comedy waiting for you at the roller rink! You just had to find the person holding onto the railing, and then wait for it....

wait for it.......


Yeah, there's the payoff! It probably is cruel to laugh at that, but hey, what can I say, it was always funny!
Now let me bore you with some of my more personal memories of the skating rink...


...The rink would have speed races, and I actually won one!


After winning the race and trying to show off, I slammed my skates into one of the floor boards (I doubt if they have these anymore), the board broke, my gut hit the railing, my momentum flipped me over the railing, and I landed on a pinball machine...I went from hero to zero just like that...how embarrassing!



..I was still semi-petrified of girls in my early teens (probably still am!). Anywhooo, there was a really cute girl who asked me if I would skate with her when the next "couples" skate came up, and I excitedly said "yes"!


But when the slow songs started playing, signaling the start of couples skate, my sorry scared butt went into the bathroom, and sat on the toilet until those damn slow songs were over! I remember coming out of my stall (a.k.a. my "fortress of solitude"), and one of her friends yelling at me because I made the girl who I was supposed to dance with cry! I really do hope that girl never took it personally, and if I could go back in time, I would have been out there skating with her, I was just scared at the time!


...And finally...the skating rink always reminds me of one little fashion tidbit from the early 80's...the big brush in the back pocket. I actually remember how cool people thought they were with their big brushes sticking out of their back pockets...pretty funny and lame looking back on it!
Yep, the good old roller rink!

Have a good 1, JJ
18
More Articles From jj888844
An unhandled error has occurred. Reload Dismiss