Love on Wheels

In my youth, roller rinks were hunting grounds for teens looking for love – or at least “like”.

My school had monthly roller-skating parties where the school’s populous would gather, gossip and eventually pair up, break up and then pair up again with the same or different people…sometimes all in the same night.

It was a microcosm of teen angst and love, all on four wheels careening in an oval on a wood floor.

With regularity, several girls would huddle in one area, boys would huddle in another.  At various intervals, a reconnaissance girl would go over to the boys’ group and find out which boys liked which girls and then report back.

Boys would follow girls around the rink floor and pass them, giving amorous and playful looks.  More aggressive boys would come up behind them and pretend to run into them, all without knocking them over.  Sometimes girls would do the same to boys.  It was all very innocent and non-committal.

But then, you heard the intro for “Babe”, a song by the rock group Styx.  It was the signal.  The DJ said “Girls, grab your favorite guy for Ladies’ Choice.  Yes, pairs only skating for Ladie’s choice.”  The lights went down and the disco ball illuminated sparkles of dancing light all over the rink.

This is where all the recon paid off, as each girl knew which boy was interested.  You never want to ask a question which you don’t know the answer. Instantly, girls went over to the guy of their choice put out their hand, looked into their eyes, and smiled coyly.  This was the boy’s opportunity to accept by smiling, taking her hand and they skate around and around to the song.  The interaction did not require one spoken word.  As the couple pairing ritual takes a few minutes, the DJ wisely uses the extended play version, so there is still enough time for the circular wooing rites.

If you or your partner were good skaters, you would skate like dancing.  Hands on shoulders and waists and someone goes backwards.  If you were not a good skater, and I wasn’t, awkward hand-holding was the standard, desperately trying to skate in synchronicity, without falling down.  Luckily, I never fell down.

When the song ended, glances and smiles were exchanged and everything reverted as before.

This went on several times a night until it was the bewitching hour, when everyone’s parents would come to take them home.  If you partnered up with the same boy that night, you may get a little kiss, a smile, a hug, and/or holding hands as far as the doors, but never outside.  Never allow parents to know your love life.

To this day, as soon as I hear the 30-sec intro to “Babe,” I am whirled back to that time and place.   And in my head, I hear the DJ say, ”Ladie’s choice, it’s time for couple’s skate… ladies choice…”