Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

Sue Ellen discovers skating and boys.

1980

 

        I remember first pair of roller skates I ever had.  It was the summer of 1970.  I was seven years old with brown hair in pig-tails.  My last baby tooth had fallen out and I had a gap in my white smile.  Basically, I was your typical kid.

       School had just gotten out and I was free for the summer. How happy I was! There so much I had to do like swim, play marbles, listen to records and spend the night at my friend’s house.  I knew I would spend endless hours riding my bike from Holland Heights to Merchant. 

       One day my Mom took me shopping, which was a pleasant surprised.  She didn’t usually like to bother dragging us kids around, but that day she seemed happy to have us along with her.  My older sister Willow was such a pest and had ruined shopping for mom and me, but this particular day Willow was at a friend’s house. Mom told me to get my shoes on and get ready because I was going to run errands with her that day.  Excitedly, I ran to my room and put on my shoes and grabbed my purse. 

       We drove down to the Tulip Shopping Center downtown first, which wasn’t much fun.  Then we went to Shira’s Sporting Goods Center.  As I walked down the aisles of basketballs, gold clubs, bows and guns, one thing caught my eye.  It the very far corner were a paid of blue skates.  I passed them knowing I’d never own them.  I wondered around the corner and out of Mom’s sight.  Slowly I wandered up the aisles and around to the cash register.  That is where I met back up with Mom.  She’d already made her purchase and was ready to go. 

       It wasn’t until we got home that Mom handed me the bag and told me to open it.  When I pulled out the box, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It was the very same pair of skates that I’d been eyeing at the store.  I jumped up and threw my arms around Mom’s neck.  “Thank you! Thank you!” I cried.

      “You’re welcome,” she smiled.

      I got the skates out and laced them up.  I felt like the luckiest girl in the world that day.  I was a little shaky at first, but I was determined to learn quickly.  Everyone in the neighborhood and on TV made it look so easy.  I took a few steps and then stumbled forward.  My knees got scraped up and Mom came to comfort me.  It wasn’t long that the sting subsided and I was ready to try again.  Although unsteady, I managed to keep rolling.  I spent the rest of the afternoon learning how to keep from falling down. 

      When my sister came home, I showed her my new skates.  She seemed very unimpressed and I was hurt.  Willow started telling me about this cute boy that she had a crush on instead.  I think she was just jealous and trying not to show it. 

      The whole summer I spent learning how to roller skate.  I would spend hours by myself skating up and down the sidewalks in my neighborhood and sometimes my friends would even join me.  Being young, most of us were not allowed to roller skate on the smoothly paved streets, so we made an obstacle course of the broken up slate sidewalks. 

       By the end of summer, I knew of every inch and every crack and every bump of the sidewalks that lined my turn of the century neighborhood.  I knew where to swerve left and where to swerve right and just when to step up or down.  I was proud of this and the skills I acquired over the summer.  I fell in love with the flow of rolling along a smooth surface with the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.  I felt like a goddess, but not Athena or Artemis.  No, I imagined myself a female version of Hermes the winged messenger god of Greek Times.  I was someone special because two legs were common, but eight wheels were not!

         The summers that followed were full of great memories as I rolled toward my teenage years.  As I grew bigger and stronger, I was able to go longer and faster than ever before. I’d turned skating into an art form and strived to be a picture of grace even though I had my moments of sheer clumsiness. 

         My parents thought it was good for me to be out in the fresh air and getting exercise, but they got a little frustrated when I was late for dinner or refused to go somewhere with my sister.  They told me it wasn’t so good to do too much of one thing or spend so much time by myself.  They just understand that when I skated it felt like home.  It was time to be me.  It wasn’t Mom’s time or Dad’s time or Willow’s time.  It was my time.

         Willow had her good grades and poetry.  When she was younger, before her rebellious stage, we would always go to her piano recitals.  For a short time my parents made a huge fuss over when she sang for a talent scout.  She lost interest in singing professionally when the talent scout said she sang like a fat old opera singer.  He might have meant it as a compliment, but Willow didn’t take it that way and that made me happy.

        The thing was my parents never got excited about my skating.  To them it was all fun and games, but to me it was my life.  I wanted them to be proud of my accomplishments, but when I went backwards for the first time at age nine they didn’t seem the least bit enthusiastic about it. Mom just told me to set the table for dinner.

         When I heard about the skating championships winning one became my dream.  I was going to be the Champion Skater of New York State by the age of seventeen.  That gave me five years to work my way up into the Championships. 

         This is when I started going to the roller skating rink in town.  Mom often wondered why I needed to pay to get in there when I could skate for free outside our house.  I tried to explain to her that skating had become a social thing and that to be any good I had to practice at the rink.  She shook her head and went back to putting her groceries away.

        Oh, but the rink was so much more fun than the bumpy sidewalks I found or even paved roads.  The music made me pick up my pace and blend my movements.  The air was filled with excitement and I knew I was amid people who understood. 

        I would meet my friends on Friday nights or sometimes Saturday afternoons.  If I got all my chores and homework done, sometimes I even went twice a week.  Those were my weekends in disco heaven.  It was just me and the music.  Who my friends came and went with didn’t matter to me.  I didn’t pay attention to who was making out or making love.  The only thing that mattered was being one with the music and perfecting my jumps and twists. 

        It was the summer of 78 when I found the skating championships were going to be held at Holland Heights in our very own skating rink on October 1^st.  Immediately, I called the rink after I saw the announcement in the paper.  They gave me all the information I needed to register. 

       The first contest was August 20^th and the second was September 9^th.  The finals were September 28^th and then the Championship on October 1^st.  The first round would be strictly local and the second round would be open to the entire county.  The finals were state wide as was the Championship.  I signed up for the first contest.  My mother wasn’t too happy about having to pay the entrance fee, but it wasn’t too expensive, so she went ahead and did it.

        Kelly was at the skating rink when I went practice at the beginning of August.  I got my tick and went to my usual bench to put on my skates.  It was there Kelly found me. 

        “Hi Sue Elle,” she called.

         I looked up.  “Hi Kelly.”

        “Did you hear about the contest and the championship?”  I continued to lace up my skates.  “I entered the first contest.”

        “No, I hadn’t heard, but that is great!” she said.

         We headed toward the rink where the groups of kids and teenagers were speeding by us.  “This is what I’ve been waiting for!”

        “I think I am going to enter too,” Kelly said as we slipped into the rink and blended with the crowd.  “But I don’t think I’ll win anything.”

         “You’re a great skater.  Why wouldn’t you win anything?”

         “Skating is your thing, not mine, but it does sound fun.”

         “Well, you don’t have to sign up, but it would be fun to have you there.  It would be nice to be able to compete together.”

         “Okay,” Kelly said.  After a moment of silence, she said, “Hey, is that Erica up there?”

         I tried to get a better look, but the lightening was pretty dim.  “I’m not sure.”

        The fast paced song ended and Meatloaf’s “Two out of three Ain’t Bad,” came on.  The floor cleared and all that was left were couples mostly.  I turned around and started skating backwards.  The lights dimmed and stopped flashing so much.  As couples passed me holding hands, I felt a sadness fill me.  I rarely thought about not having a boyfriend, but there were times I really felt like I was missing out on something.  This was one of those times. 

        I thought about how my life was pretty good on the outside.  I had two parents and sister.  We had a roof over our heads and food on the table, but my whole existence felt shallow for some reason.  My life felt empty.  I tried to get myself to think of other things so I wouldn’t start crying�"like the contest coming up. 

        As the song ended and the lights brightened, Kelly and Erica came up to me.  I turned back around so I was facing forward and three of us skated together. 

       “Ready for your Senior year?” Erica asked.

       “Don’t even mention school,” I shuttered.  “We have nearly a month of vacation left and I don’t want to even thing about it.”

        “This year is going to be totally cool,” Erica declared. He long beautiful brown hair fell down around her soft, tanned face.  “We are at the top of the food chain.  We finally get to stop being picked on.  Not to mention all the guys who’ve gotten totally gorgeous over the summer.”

        “Like Vince Stanton,” Kelly cooed.

        “Last I heard he had a girlfriend.” I pointed out.

        “So,” Erica said, “As long as they aren’t married or anything he is fair game.”

        I shook my head at her.

        “Who do you like?” Kelly asked me.

        “Nobody really.”

        “Well, Heath is kind of cute.  So is Brian. Although Brian things he is too high and mighty to skate,” Erica said.

        “Heath?” Kelly asked, “What in the world is cool about him?”

        “I don’t know.  He doesn’t talk much and mostly skates alone with headphones on. Its weird, but kind of fascinating.  His hair.  I think it’s his long hair that like.  Or his big brown eyes.  I just wonder what is going on in that mind of his.  I guess I am just curious about him is all,” Erica explained.

         Just then Chris came rushing by.  He grabbed Kelly’s T-shirt sleeve and let go as he passed.  We could him laughing as he rounded the corner.  Kelly out a scream of surprise and lost her balance.  She grabbed onto me to steady herself and all three of us tumbled to the polished wooden floor, but at least we fell laughing as we went.  People skated around us as we struggled to our feet.  Chris and Luke came back around to see the damage they’d done.  They were still laughing as they passed us. 

       “The nerve of them,” Kelly said shaking her head.

       “Let’s get them back” I suggested.

       “Yeah, we can trip them when they go by!” Erica declared as we began to move again. 

       “No, let’s act cool and then later when we eat at the booths we can trip them then.  That way they will make a huge mess,” I suggested as I arched my eyebrow daringly.

       “Far out!” Kelly smiled.

       “Far out is like so long ago.  Do you have to use such outdated words?” Erica complained.

       “But I like them”

       The lights blinked and Mr. Zippo the DJ came over the loudspeakers.  “Next its time to limbo. So make a single file line in the back.  It is time to ask yourself how low can you go? Or should I say roll?”

       Erica and I got in line ask Kelly skated toward an exit so she could go sit with Chris and Luke.  The limbo was more for the younger kids, but occasionally a teenager or two would take on the challenge.  Most of the older kids could only go two rounds before it got too low.  The most I ever last was four rounds.  I found it a challenge to keep my balance and pull my body in as much as possible.  I usually just extended one foot out to the side and kept my head down toward my chest.  I went under like that once, but second time I messed up and knocked the stick down.  I was out, but I did not care so much that day.  I went to join Kelly and the guys. 

       Kelly always had guys around her and she was always flirting.  I wasn’t much of a flirt, which maybe why her flirting got on my nerves so bad some days.  To tell you the truth I always envied her a bit.  She was the pretty one with long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes.  Her chest is probably what got her the most attention though.  As for me, while most guys probably thought I was like twelve still. 

        I sat down on the bench next to Luke.  He was telling Chris and Erica a story.  I listened to Luke as he spoke, “So there I was with Bobbi in my bed when Mom knocks on the door.  I told Mom I was changing and to hold on minute.  Bobbi grabbed her clothes, kisses me and then hid in the closet as Mom came in.”

      “That’s about as close as I came to being caught with dope once,” Chris jumped in.  “My mother actually in on me and Heath smoking some and she asked what the smell was.  I lied and told her incense and she actually believed me!” 

       “Dude, how is the old lady?”

       “Forty�"I think,” Chris replied.  “She was a square when she was a teenager if there ever was one.”

        I felt so out of place.  I’d never had to sneak a guy in or out of my room nor did I ever have to cover up for smoking dope.  I’d never tried marijuana and the most I’d ever done with a guy was French kiss.  Harry Helmnsly had pulled me into the dark room during photojournalism class and kissed me.  That was way back in tenth grade.  After that he never spoke to me again.  I realized that he probably did it on a dare.  I wondered how Mom would react if I had snuck Heath into my house, smoked dope and then made out.  She’d go ballistic even if he didn’t make it second base.  At least I’d have her attention though. 

       “Didn’t win I take it?” Kelly asked, finally acknowledging my presence. 

       “I decided to let someone else win for once.”

        Just then Mr. Zippo came back on the loudspeaker, so the limbo contest must have ended.  “Now it’s time to take chance and play the dice game.  Remember; when the music stops you stop at the nearest number.”  He put the music on.  It was a Partridge Family song.  We decided to go for it, so we stood up and made our way to the floor. 

        When the music stopped, I was four with Luke.  Kelly and Chris were at five and Erica was at one.  A pretty girl in bell bottoms and a flowered white blouse tossed the giant fuzzy dice.  “Number two leave the floor,” Zippo called when the dice landed.  She rolled again and Zippo called, “Number six you got the nix.”  The music started again.  When the music stopped I stopped at six, which was empty.  They rolled the big orange stuffed dice and he called, “Number four leave the floor.”  She tossed again.  “Sorry Six,” Zippo said to me.  I rolled off the floor thinking Damn, I never win anything!  I went to sit down wondering if the chances of the championship were about as good as me winning at limbo or dice.  Was it an impossible dream? It was beginning to seem like it.

       There were a few more all-skates, but I wasn’t really into it after that.  I knew Kelly and Eric could sense my disappointment, but I didn’t care.