Thanks to the popularity of sports on wheels, cities have added skate parks to the public domain. These parks aren't just for skateboarders and the youth. Depending on the time of day the park might be the refuge of just one skater. As a skater I’ve evolved from skating on ice on frozen ponds during the winter to indoor roller rinks and then to the outdoors on roads and trails. Sometimes I even have the skate park to myself.
Skates come in a variety of shapes and styles specialized for the intended use. When I first started ballroom style dancing on skates I took lessons at the rink. My skates were the standard roller-skates also called quads and remain my preference for dancing. When I go to the skate park I put on my inline skates with the softer wheels to make the road ride less bumpy. I love switching from speed skating to get to the park to the jumps, spins and invariably a few falls.
My honey first skated on hockey skates and prefers speed. Our two styles can be compatible, but certainly doesn’t make us suitable dancing partners on wheels. We enjoy the park separately. He skates the perimeter and revels in the speed of the concrete surface. Sometimes he just sits and watches me. Other times we skip the park and race.
On our last skate date he told me something he’d never mentioned before. I was practicing a new move and he beckoned me to him.
“One time before we met I was picking someone up at the rink and I saw you skating with a partner. I thought ‘wow, she’s really good.”
I don’t recall being that great. I suppose like beauty that judgment is relative to the observer. I keep practicing and every week I improve. The skating isn’t what brought us together, but it is something we can share.
THE END
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