Fond Memory #2 - Roller Derby Street Kings
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| The Unbeatable Street Kings |
Grade school, skates attached to the hard soles of your
school shoes via screw clamps on the front edge. The back tied down with a
small leather strap and buckle. These skates would come off for any number of
reasons. The bolt in the middle that controlled the size might get loose and
the skate would fall into two pieces, or you might hit a slight crack in the
sidewalk and the clamped toe end would just pop off. These would prevent you
from getting any speed (unless you enjoyed a tumble on the sidewalk) and no
matter how skilled you were at falling those falls hurt. The only solution was “Roller Derby Street Kings” shoe skates
like the kind at the roller rink - except with steel wheels for outdoor use (no
polyurethane back then). These allowed you to go full speed without endangering
your life. I wanted those but the
price was much too high.
The answer to my dilemma came when I got to go on an
electrical side job with my father. I always liked those jobs, I was a little
scared - at once not to let your father down and also not to get electrocuted*.
Half the time I didn’t have a clue but it was exciting and the pay was great. I
made enough at the time to buy the Street Kings and now was the undisputed fastest
skater on my block. (Actually a bigger kid may have been faster but his skates
would fall off two thirds into the race…) I would go around challenging the
best skaters in the neighborhood to expand my dominion.
I met my match across 95th street and a block over, the boy’s name was Bobby and he had a pair of Street Kings too. The race was set to be on the sidewalks, he on the east side of Lowe street starting at 96th, me on the west. We would end at the alley just before 95th. The other kids yelled the start and we were on, hell bent for glory. After a few moments of flailing and pounding steel on concrete we ended, in a dead heat. We both claimed victory, so we ran it again with the same result - neither one of us would ever concede - only grudgingly calling it a tie.
A kid today would be screaming if he had to wear those metal wheeled beasts, accustomed as they are now to luxurious polyurethane, but to us they were pure heaven…
I met my match across 95th street and a block over, the boy’s name was Bobby and he had a pair of Street Kings too. The race was set to be on the sidewalks, he on the east side of Lowe street starting at 96th, me on the west. We would end at the alley just before 95th. The other kids yelled the start and we were on, hell bent for glory. After a few moments of flailing and pounding steel on concrete we ended, in a dead heat. We both claimed victory, so we ran it again with the same result - neither one of us would ever concede - only grudgingly calling it a tie.
A kid today would be screaming if he had to wear those metal wheeled beasts, accustomed as they are now to luxurious polyurethane, but to us they were pure heaven…
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| The Infamous Clip On - Fall Off Skates |
*(Ok, I really had no chance of being electrocuted…)
Story: Ken
Artwork: TMITH
Photo: Random Internet
Story: Ken
Artwork: TMITH
Photo: Random Internet
Great story, I'm picturing the race, south to north, yes only to the alley before 95th. Also appreciating the click click of each sidewalk crack and hoping none were too thick as to cause a spill.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely far from being electrocuted...