The skirt.........

The picture on the profile is of my first skate skirt. You may have guessed by now that the "roll" is about roller skating. I was about 6 or 7 in the photo and I was very proud of that skirt. I had been wearing jeans to the rink on Saturday afternoons for a while to keep down the occurance of raspberries on the knees.

I got my first sidewalk skates some earlier and loved every minute of it, even though the cracks and uneven places in the sidewalk were murder. I did not even know that there was such a thing as roller rinks but mom did. Soon I was going every Saturday afternoon.

Once I got where I was upright most all the time I started begging mom for lessons. I noticed a group of kids that could do the most fantastic things on skates. I really had my doubts that I could but I was determined to try. I was really proud of myself because this was something I was doing completely on my own. There was not one kid from my school going to the rink on a regular basis and certainly none from my school taking lessons.

The rink was a large one and had 4 instructors on a professional standing, 2 men and 2 women. I don't think everyone knew there was a time when roller skating (while a popular past time in my youth) was also every bit as beautiful and athletic as the ice skating you see in the Winter Olympics. While many towns during the 50's and 60's had rinks, I don't think a lot of them had the professionals on hand and the lessons available. I had a lot to learn and was a little disappointed that the first lessons consisted of doing the figures. This was to teach control and strength. With one push off you had to be able to get around the figure 8. Each level had to be passed before you could go on and learn anything else.

After I began the lessons it meant that I was spending the biggest part of every Saturday at the rink. Lessons were in the morning and I would have a hot dog for lunch at the rink and stay for the afternoon skate that lasted until 5 p.m. Never was I bored, the only thing that bothered me was that I wanted to be able to do more and do it better.

There will be more to come later. I hope I spark some fond memories for some and maybe even a little inspiration before this is all over.