Roller Magic

Those who grew up in Rhode Island, you've probably been to Roller Magic in Warwick. It was a local rollerskating center. For my siblings and I, it was a weekly tradition to dominate the rollerskating floor. And whoever won the limbo contest each week which would get free admission for their party for a future date. My siblings and I dominated limbo and basically never paid for admission in. The secret to winning? Well, it wasn't really a secret since everyone could see how we did it. The key to getting low on rollerskates is doing splits. We were basically the only individuals who could.

This may seem completely random but it's not. The past couple of days I hung out with a long time childhood friend and his friends. And on multiple (and separate) occasions, I was told by the person I was speaking with that they remembered me from Roller Magic; particularly the aspect of limbo and doing the split. No, I probably can't do splits on rollerskates anymore; though, I haven't been rollerskating in many years. But it was awkward yet endearing that limbo was that what they remembered me for. I did feel aged and stale animosity from the jealous person I was speaking to that couldn't do the split. But the competition was in all in fun! They turned out to be fun and great people even after losing in limbo week after week!

Keep in mind, the limbo took only a few minutes of the night. The other time periods, it was just free skate with mainstream music on like "Don't Go Jason Waterfalls". Free skate was key to learning the split. Practice does make perfect (well at least closer to it).

Roller Magic also provided students with motivation by offering free admission for straight A's on their report cards. What a respectable thing to offer to the community.