ROLLING DOWN MEMORY LANE

Looking back on my previous blog posts, I realize I write a lot of stuff about stuff. 

Somehow, I feel an obligation to take stuff from where I find it, whether it be a thrift store, yard sale, or auction, and get it to somebody who really wants it. Sometimes that person is me. Okay, it's always me.

There are some things I just can't seem to walk away from, that tug at my heartstrings, tickle my funny bone, ramp up my kitsch thermometer, or transport me back to my childhood. Yes, I'm hitting the nostalgic stage of my life.

According to some reports, I am either a tail-end Baby Boomer or an early Gen Xer, which pinpoints people born between 1961 and 1981. Just the Gen Xers alone account for 83,000,000 people in the general population. Things are going to get gushy over the next few years.

So, if you are a Gen Xer, Baby Boomer, a Millennial (a group that suffers from early on-set sentimentality), or one of the Greatest Generation, and are feeling the way I am, this might be a nice trip down memory lane for you.

This week, I am rolling down memory lane with a classic vintage pair of adjustable roller skates from the 1950s, that you used to  have to strap on to your shoes.

I purchased them at Ye Olde Firestation Antique Store in Kitscoty, Alberta; a great store that is deceiving from the outside, as it appears to be small and quaint. The inside is quaint, but far from small as the store spills out into two rooms, a backyard, several sheds, in addition to another building on the same street. These stores are becoming hard to find with the rise of internet sites such as Etsy and Ebay. So, it's a real treat when you do come across one.

Ye Olde Fire Station Antique Store in Kitscoty, Alberta

I interviewed one of the owners, Debbie Green, for the Vermilion Voice. She is an avid collector and I was thrilled to find the roller skates, complete with leather straps in her wonderful store. The only thing missing was the key, but I didn't care, not like Melanie did. I don't need a key to complete me.

The ball bearing wheels, the metal frame and the leather straps took me right back to a similar pair I had in the early 70s, before the boot style became widely available.

These skating relics, as crude as they were, were actually very well made, and the wheels and frames seemed to last forever. The leather straps were problematic, however, and tended to stretch and break, sometimes while in the midst of roller skating. 

Apart from the sentimentality the skates aroused in me, I think I may have purchased them to show my kids just how tough we were "back in the day".

The thrill of going down a hill with these things strapped to your ankles, knowing the straps could go at anytime, created a sensation that has been unmatched since the introduction of safety standards in the toy industry. 

And imagine the feeling of skating toward your friend who was playing in his front yard with his metal lawn darts, while his sister was clacking her glass Klackers when you felt the leather straps around your ankles about to give way...now that'll give you something to cry about.