Today is Halloween.
For most, it is the one time of the year where you are encouraged dress up like a raving lunatic, an axe murderer, a combination Pirate/Stripper, Satan's Uncle, or a naughty nurse, and people will give you candy for it.
For others, including myself, it's just another day of the week. I don't get into Halloween too much, which is something I blame entirely on my parents.
Why, you ask?
After a couple of years of Trick-Or-Treating, my parents didn't let my sisters and I celebrate Halloween anymore. Instead, they took us rollerskating.
ROLLERSKATING. ON HALLOWEEN.
Now, before you get to thinking that a Halloween-themed rollerskating party might not be all that bad, let me explain that it wasn't that way at all. There were no costumes allowed, and there was no candy. The rink was void of any spooky decorations, and instead of creepy music and "The Monster Mash" being played over the loudspeakers, they played alternative Christian rock. A local Christian radio station hosted/sponsored the event by renting out a couple of rollerskating rinks in the area, touting it as a safe and fun alternative to the traditional Halloween.
As someone who routinely had (and still has) trouble with coordination in shoes without wheels, I'm not sure why my parents thought that I'd have fun rollerskating. They'd hand me a pair of clunky brown rental skates and shove me off towards the rink, wobbling and careening wildly all over the place. I'd pull myself along the wall by the railing, cruising at a cool 3.7 miles-per-hour. Towards the end of the night I would gain enough confidence and skill to skate around the rink on my own away from the wall, but it was inevitable that I'd forget about the rubber bumper "brake" on the front of the skate and fall forward on my knees.
Even now as an adult, there isn't going to be any Halloween celebrating this year, either. The Boss and I have to put the finishing touches on cleaning our old apartment, and that will pretty much kill the evening. I was going to try to get The Boss to dress up like Princess Leia from Star Wars VI, but I don't think she'll do it.
For those who are getting out tonight, have fun, be safe, and be sure to blog about it afterwards!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 Comments:
I can't rollerskate either. I'd go just about every weekend in warm weather one year to hang out with my friends, but I got tired or them being able to skate and me not, so I quit going.
Then when I grew up I got a JOB at a skating rink. I did learn how to use inline skates, but still to this day can't skate with regular skates.
To get The Boss to dress up in your fantasy costume, you have to offer to dress up in hers. Do tell us what it is?
I recall having fun at a roller-disco when I was 19 - because I had no fear back then.
Enjoy your first weekend in your new place.
Oh man we used to go rollerskating every Friday night when I was a little kid.
I AM celebrating Halloween, but as of yet I'm not exactly chalk full of costume ideas.
Halloween is my least favorite holiday, too and it stems from some childhood events as well.
I'm uncoordinated and can't skate (roller or ice).
I've got the grandkids spending the night while my daughter and her husband go to a party. I'll be searching OnDemand for a tame Halloween movie and making popcorn.
Have a great weekend!!
Heather: I'm even worse on inline skates than regular. I can't even stand up in them.
Scatterbrain: Her fantasy costume? No amount of makeup or fancy clothes could ever make me look like Ryan Reynolds.
Miss Grace: I know of a few houses you could TP if you'd like.
Jen W: The only part of Halloween I look forward to is when all the leftover bags of candy go on clearance.
Employee No 3699: I don't call what I do on skates "skating", so I'm with you on that one. It looks more like my bones are made of Jell-O and I'm having a seizure. There is lots of knee-wobbling and arm-flailing.
woa, the heading got bigger!
I am completely uncoordinated on roller skates, but do have a couple good memories, NOT associated with Halloween of high school boyfriend and skating during the couple's dance. Of course that was in 1983, before some of you were born!
As a Christian I get leaned on by other Christians about celebrating Haloween. (Personally, I celebrate All Saints Day on Nov 1, which usually marks the first snowfall here.)
Yeah, so I don't believe in glorifying evil, but hey... costumes and candy are fun. We have the same rules for costumes as tattoos: No dead things and no naked women. Easy. Unless you're most of the eleven-teen year old girls in our neighborhood who seem to always pick Hoochie for a costume.
Moonspun: It did! And, it got different!
The Mister: The Hoochie costume is always going to be popular... Dressing up like a tramp must be a thrill, because I don't see any other reason why to do it.
I really love your new theme/layout Badass. You're very clever. I like the figure on the side, it works very well (although I also liked it in the banner.)
Something about the clean, minimalist look is so appealing to my eye....making this just about my favorite theme on Blogger.
I always set out to make my own themes simple, but can never resist a little twiddle here, overdoing some other tweak there.
Any kind of skating is fine by me, have done it all my life, but I would not have enjoyed those Halloween skates of which you speak. Sounds pretty boring.
I had a Princess Leia show up at my party last night. It was a cool costume.
Rollerskating instead of trick or treating? Hmmmm.....if it was as my mind pictured it, it sounds fun. But after hearing there were no decorations, no costumes, no candy.....well, what the heck fun is that? :-)
Post a Comment