“Roller-skating and ice-skating are two different things – I found that out the hard way.”
The day is beautiful with lots of sun and a clear, deep blue sky. The only problem is the cold. It isn’t take your breath away cold, for which I am thankful, but it is wear a jacket or a vest cold. The prediction is for snow starting tomorrow night and continuing into Monday. We could get up to 8 inches, but the forecast is still filled with maybes. Sadly the snow isn’t a maybe but the amount is.
Even when I was young, I don’t think I’d have welcomed snow this time of year. It’s bicycle time. Sled time is over. I’d have already put my sled in the cellar and brought out my bike.
I was a pretty good roller skater on the sidewalks near my house. My skates were the key kind which attached to my shoes, always shoes, never sneakers. I’d sit on the front steps, loosen the sliders on the under part of the skates then put my feet in and move the slider up and down until the skates perfectly fit my feet. I’d then tighten the slider bolts. The next part needed my key which I always kept on a string around my neck when I skated. The string was a necessity because losing the key was about the worst thing to happen. That key loosened or tightened the clamps at the top of my skates, the clamps which held on to my shoes. Once the clamps were as tight as I could get them the last thing to do was to buckle the leather strap which went across my foot.
I loved how strange the bottoms of my feet felt as I skated. It was like a tingling sensation. Coupled with that was the great sound of skates rolling across the sidewalks. It was almost like the sound of a revving motor.
The skates never really glided and didn’t do well dealing with big bumps or cracks in the sidewalks. I didn’t care; however, I did sometimes fall after encountering a crack and often skinned my knees. Blood trails went down my legs. They were like badges of honor because I’d get right back up and skate again, blood or no blood.
We went to the skating rink occasionally and rented shoe skates. The rink was in Medford, the next town over, and was called The Bal-A-Roue. It looked a bit like a hockey rink. The skating part was oval and surrounded by a railing. The surface, though, was wooden. An organ played the music so easy even now to recognize as skating music. I love going there.
When I’d get home, my skirt or my pants were usually dirty from the number of times I fell on that wooden floor. I admit the railing and I were great friends.
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March 19, 2016 at 1:55 pm
Wonderful springwinter weather here today, cold morning and a warm, sunny day. We were out walking for three hours and I stopped counting how many times I tripped and fell outb there on the bog 🙂
I loved skating and got pretty good at it, today I’m not sure if I would be able to even stand still without falling 🙂 I never really mastered roller skates though, should have been easier one could think.
No snow predicted here but we might get rain on the night towards Monday.
Time to watch Grimm again, I really like this season! I don’t believe that Juliette really has died no matter what they say, she will come back again and I’m pretty sure she won’t be nice when she does 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
March 19, 2016 at 3:49 pm
By the way, can You see this link on Youtube? It is the song that will represent us in the eurovision song contest.
March 19, 2016 at 6:37 pm
Christer,
I can see the video. I like the song and the singer.
When is the eurovision song contest?
March 20, 2016 at 8:05 am
It takes place between the 9th and 14th of May. Tweo semifinales because there are just too many countries participating and the big finale with around 20-25 songs at the 14th.
March 20, 2016 at 11:16 am
Thanks, Christer!
March 19, 2016 at 6:35 pm
Christer,
I could ice skate pretty well, could even go backwards, but I liked roller skates better because I’d get cold in i.e. skating weather.
I cleaned today, a cabinet long needing attention. I think I merited an award for all the work.
I forgot to check the news to see how many inches snow we’re going to get.
As for Grimm, I’ll give nothing away!!
Enjoy your day!
March 19, 2016 at 3:01 pm
It’s a wunnaful day … it’s cold and, with any luck, will get colder. Why, the WXman even speculated we may have some frost on the ground tonite. What’s not to like … ?
To make things even better-er, ‘On The Trail Of The Pink Panther’ is showing today. Sellers was indeed one of a kind, and I challenge anyone to watch his antics in the ‘Pink Panther’ movies and come away having not laughed. Only snow could make today better.
The St Jude Fish Fry went quite well. Great turnout, great food, and money for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There was a bit of concern driving there, however. Seems the windshield wiper on the passenger side kept wanting to dislodge itself from the wiper arm. I pulled over at least five separate times to re-secure it before continuing to the event. That made for some ‘high-pucker-factor’ moments. It’s secured now.
Skates. Tried ‘em. Once. That was enough. I wasn’t as coordinated as my brother and sister. After falling every time I got t’ rollin’, I decided skates ’n me weren’t gonna play nice together. That decision probably saved me at least one broken bone, and I’ve never regretted not having done it.
For those among us who love the Corvette, here’s how the one millionth ‘vette was re-born after that incident with the sinkhole in Bowling Green. I’m glad I saw the museum before that happened …
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/10/photos/sinkhole-1-millionth-corvette-museum-repair-update/
And now a wee bit o’ the old ‘muzik’ from one Al Green … it’s all about that ‘Love ’n Happiness’ thing …
March 19, 2016 at 6:50 pm
Richard,
It was nice in the sun today as for once there wasn’t a wind. It will get colder tonight so I brought my primroses inside where they’ll stay until Monday as we are definitely getting snow Sunday night. The amount was in question, and I missed the news so I don’t know the update.
I loved Peter Sellers particularly the first Pink Panther, Dr. Strangelove and Being There. In that last one he was magnificent. It was so different from his other roles.
I’m glad the fish fry was so successful. I hate it when windshield wipers go awry. Once I had to get off the highway to try and find a gas station with wipers.
I found the four wheels easier to skate with than a blade. My brother never even ice skated while one of my sisters wouldn’t wear her new skates after the first attempt when she ended up skating almost on her ankles.
I remember watching the cars fall into the sinkhole on the news. They did a great job restoring it. The car is like a national monument!
Wow, I’d forgotten how great Al Green is!!
March 19, 2016 at 3:25 pm
Cooler weather today, like 68 degrees with clear skies. When I was a kid we loved roller skating. We had the same kind of skates as you with the key. One year in summer camp we made a lanyard out of long thin plastic strips by bradding them into a lanyard and creating a slide adjuster with a clip on the end to hang the skate key. When I moved back to the NYC at age 14 I learned to ice skate and had my own skates. There was a small park called Goose Pond Park across the street from the neighborhood High School. I never saw a goose but there were ducks. When the pond froze we could skate around all afternoon. The pond was about two feet deep so if the ice was too thin you only got wet up to your knees.
The city had a huge indoor skating rink on the World’s Fair grounds which had both an indoor roller and an ice rink. It was the NYC pavilion from the 1939 world’s fair and was reused for the 1964/65 fair. The ice was as smooth as glass after the Zamboni machine manicured the surface every couple of hours. The frozen surface of the pond was more like skating on the side walk with roller skates. Thanks for reminding me of the music they played at the rink but they didn’t have an organ they just played records. I could never skate backwards on either wheels or on ice. I’m hoping that the snow doesn’t hit the New York Metropolitan area until Sunday evening when I’m snug in my hotel room.
March 19, 2016 at 7:11 pm
Bob,
We used to call those plastic strips gimp. I too made a lanyard out of two different colors. The square stitch was the one which made the slide. One Christmas when I was an adult, my mother gave me a lanyard kit with the gimp and the clip. Even after so many years, I remembered how to make it.
The town set up an ice skating rink at a local park every winter. There was a small building with a wood stove where we changed from shoes to skates. There were benches with all the pairs of shoes stowed in piles underneath it. We also skated at the swap in the woods near my house.
There was no roller skating rink except the one I mentioned which was in the next town over.
The snow isn’t due here until Sunday evening so it probably won’t hit NY until early Sunday or late Saturday.