#65 Roller-Skating... Sort Of!

Last Day of Being 57!
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Here is a fine photo of me, enjoying the last day of my year long celebration! I'm wearing my childhood skate key on a cord around my neck, along with a cozy Grinnell College sweatshirt!

I was just a baby in 1957, when my family moved to Grinnell. I was too young to skate. It was probably around 1962 when I first tested my metal skates, on the walk in front of my house. I got a lot of skinned knees from those sidewalks, buckled from Elm tree roots!

Please don't look too carefully, or you'll see I'm only wearing one skate. I recently bought the rusty thing for $1.75, at an antique store. The skate had no strap, so I created my own. I would have looked the part better, had I worn Keds or saddle shoes. But I did find moccasins in my closet. I used my key to tighten the skate onto the soft leather.

As for skating? I wish I could say it all came back, like riding a bike. But with only one skate, it was more like a scooter. Buckled sidewalks? Nope, just a lot of oak blossoms from the Live Oaks... ready to cushion my fall!
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