Where time stands still

To punctuate the Memorial Day weekend with something memorable, Team Lenc spent time in a place where time actually stands still… Skate World Hillsboro!  As certain as the breath we breathe, is the passing of time.  But not so here where retro colors, neon signs, and shag carpeting… on floor and walls are flourishing all except the passage of time.  Yes, the food stand still serves nasty, cheesy nachos, you know the kind that drips from a rusty spicket.  Carnival food such as corndogs and cardboard pepperoni pizza are the featured menu with ropes of red licorce , barrels of barforama beef jerkey, and putrid pails of popcorn as sides.  Obviously, the menu was not the major attraction.

Neon and black lights glared the back of the rink and 80’s music blared through out.  And I wouldn’t be surprised if the soundtracks were cassette tapes and records… my children have never heard of such things.

My neighbor told me it was like riding a bike… where riding a bike is like, well, riding a bike.   Biking - you just do.  Skating…not so much.  The boys spent the first hour more on the floor than standing upright.  Jean-Marc and I inched alongside Samuel and Daniel, and Jeremy skoot-hobbled alone nearby.  Gabriel played gleefully with the Grands (Grandpa and Grandma) without skates, of coarse.  And, I silently wondered if my grand plan wasn’t as grand after all.  But after the first hour, I realized something noble about my boys.  After every fall, they would scramble back up, brush themselves off, and with an extra measure of resolve, push forward.  They never once cried or complained.  I didn’t say they weren’t frustrated because they were.  I certainly would be, considering the amount of time they spent wiping the floor with their bums.  But they were determined.  Ahh… perseverance!

And, into the second hour (couldn’t believe we lasted that long) before the very last song of the night, the MC makes an astonishing announcement.  “This is dedicated to Jenni for 25 years of memories.”   I smiled at husband, and he gently held my hand… just like he did many decades ago.  We left the boys to hobble on their own, and together Jean-Marc and I attempted to recapture our youth.  I even blushed again, just as I did back then.  Never mind the song he dedicated…”I’m too sexy …on the catwalk” It was still sweet.