Roller Skating in America

Niow let's talk about roller skating. You have to admit, this recreational sporting past time is a beast all unto itself. It may have began in the 50's, sock hopping, drive up dining, and such, but it could be argued this past time was predominated by black culture. There is nothing wrong with this, but from an artistic point-of-view there is a specific difference between African-American style skating and others. First, they skate mostly to black music. Nothing wrong with that. Puerto Rican's may prefer to skate to salsa music, or not. Mexican's may prefer to skate to Mariachi music, or not. I, as a WASP, prefer from time to time to skate to something other than Rap, R&B, or Hip Hop, especially if every song is DJ'ed to exactly the same tempo. I know DJ's do this at parties, matching the tempo of one song to the previous song before it is faded in and the other faded out. Let's say your big drug fest would not be disturbed by variety of tempos, say a fast song. This could be followed by a medium tempo song. Then maybe a ballad. Variety is the spice of life, so why not change it up? I left the rink tonight because every song for two hours straight was the same beat at the same tempo. It was not a rhythm I particularly like to skate to, so I wasted $7.00, which I will not get back. I sat for a while and observed the different levels of skating. Primarily less experienced skaters tend to use basic, metronomic-like stepping motions to propel themselves forward. More experienced skaters "feel" the rhythm, loosen up a bit, and take more liberty with their motions, much like an ice skater carves "figures." This is truly an liberating feeling, similar to surfing and skateboarding. These sports refer to the "carve," the forced turn that resolves itself with momentum when the surfer can unweight from the board and just glide or freefall in the wave. It is a glorious feeling, liberatin g from the relentless infrasonic hammering of diesel-electric freight trains that run 24/7 in the US and other countries. Skateboarding is a culture all unto itself also, but who knew you could get a $150.00 ticket for catching some asphault in a deserted, late night parking lot. Who knew? That kind of takes the fun out of turning that horrid urban sprawl into a roaring, frothing wave that give you pleasure rather than global warming and strawberries. Roller skating in my mind is a sport that is singular. Yes there are times when couples can skate together, but for the most part on a crowded Saturday night floor, solo is the way to skate. Young African/American girls tend to skate in groups of two and three, as do the boys. This when multiplied by four or five creates traffic barriers within the skating oval making it hard for an experienced skater to establish a steady rhythm in which to glide. It is more like Roller Derby, but without the football pads. There are though rambunctious black men that like to bump and play in the rink. Hockey in ain't supposed to be. When you do get a plural rhythm happening, everyone skating at different speeds, but literally marching to the same drummer, you get an almost orgasmic release that makes the beauty of skating what it is. Let's keep the skating rinks integrated, mix up the music, and keep them a place every age age and color can come have a good time, regardless of their skating level.