Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-31
At THE SKATING RINK
Where Pride 0fttimes Goeth
Before a Fall.
DANGER IN "SHOWlNG OFF"
Experts No More Immune From
Bumps Than Amateurs.
HARKING BACK TO YOUTH
old-Timers on the Rollers Make Merry
With the Younger Generation
Reflections at Thirty-Five.
HARKINe BACK TO YOUTH

Reflections at Thirty-Five.
man still on the hither side of forty. as he
creased along airly at the roller skating
rink. otis just az e-e-e-easy! Here Eve
only been looking on for three nights. kind
O. afraid to put EN- on. and now that I've
got 'em on 1 find it's Just as e-e-e-easyI
Something a fellow never forgets-roller-
ing: Same as swimming In that respect
Now, the last time I had 'em on, before
tonight was about-lemme see-why.
shucks, 1t was twenty years ago-au OF
that-at that old e street rink between
9th and 7th streets. And 1 guess wasn't
the fancy boy with the skates way back
yonder in that gone time! HUH l had
your airy fairy Liiians burned to tho
ground as a skater at that epoch in my
bright young career. OF course. I'm some
more circumferential around the watstline
now. but-weil, anyhow. It's a perfect snap
for me to skate, even II 1t does make mo
feel as II I were hundred and fourteen
years old to bark back over the mess OF
years since I last roller-skated. why. l
even believe could do the same OLD stunts
on EN- right now. Watch EN- DO that long
Dutch roll-why, it's like wheedling gran
ma out Of a nickel for hersecake-it
like"
Bump! Ker-biYI BangI
The somewhat adipose man, engaged IN
showing 'em how to do the long Dutch
roll of the days OF his youth. took hss
to starboard and shifted his cargo, 80 10
speak. and. right on the very pin-point OF
his INSTRUMENTATION, he was sprawling
around on the waxy floor like a capsizeo
water bug In a boarding house zinc bath
tub, while three or four agile young fei-
lows, with unbecoming and grating ana
raucous laughter, were nimbly leaping over
HIM The somewhat adipose man picked
himself up. and for the remainder OF the
session he whiried around with the great
est IMAGINABLE sedateness, eschewing fancy
stunts without tho apparent exercise OF
any great amount Of ser-restraint.
Dangerous to Brag.
It's a dangerous thing to brag about your
immunity from falls at roller skating
rink. It almost seems as IL some malicious
little tripping imp, a-rubbering. overhears
all OF the brasxgy remarks of those who are
exultant over the fact that they are not
getting any falls. and. Just to show the
complaisant ones that nobody has any cfnch
on the vertical position at roller RINK.
straishtway plants an invisible. but no less
efficacious, barrier in their way that sends
them groveling to the boards II you've
got to be Just a leetle stuck up at roller
rink over the fact that you've had no fans
Just think of It, Or, If you say 1t aloud
IL,
the imp. Knock wood with your knuckles
It's better to knock wood with your
knuckles than 1t Is to bump the boards with
every projecting portion OF your anatomy
at one and the same time Nor does the
writer hereof, In saying this, speak by mere
hearsay
However, you're going to have to stand
for a certain number of falls at the roiier
rink. anyhow, no matter how nifty skater
you may be- You will have observed that
the crackertack swimmers are the boys who
are the oftenest pulled out OF the water
and rolled over barrel. It's the same WIN
rollertng The fancy skater Is Just about
as apt to become careless as the swell swim
mer. The fellow who can make the long
roll to one side or the other on one foot like
Chinese junk riding out q Yellow sea
typhoon Ia just as apt to capsize and swao
up certain section Of the flooring with his
raiment as the mere beginner hanging on to
an instructor for dear life.
A little more apt when 1t comes to that
For the swell roller boy is occasionally in
elined to forget his business and to begin
to dope 1t out that he is making hit with
the spectators by the poetry of motion ne
is exhibiting to them. Now. IL there's any
the individual who forgets himself, even
for one-elghth Of second, It's at roller
skating rink. Even the fancy one intent
upon making a hit has got to remember
his business for the instant he forgets what
he has attached to his feet and begins to
dream upon what lovely object he must
be presenting to the common view, the
bump awaits him that will give him at least
fifteen minutes of the keenest chagrtn, to
say nothing Of certain number OF ex-
posed spots whereto the arnica or other
soothing ofntments and unguents must be
applied.
Gloat Over the Experts Fall.
Moreover, when the swell skater, engaged
in showing all hands Just what the POSSIBLE
tiles of roller skating are, goes down, the
sloat that comes a-bubblins from the mid
riff of the humble ones Is about one thou
sand times as hearty and enjoyable to the
gloaters as when some mere beginner or
Just ordinary, everyday skater fails
That's human nature-zest In the falling OF
thu mighty, The ordinary skaters sort OF
resent the extreme proficiency OF the
cracks especially when the cracks are oo-
vieusly swelled up and puffy-wuny over
their fanciness.
One afternoon last week tall. rather
top-lofty young man at the rink was
showing 'em all how dead easy 1t is to skate
backward-ye-eh how dead easy. He just
swung out into the middle of the floor,
where the roominess was, and he stuck ms
hands rakishly in the side pockets OF ais
sack coat and the way he did skate back
wards, picking his way as daintily as
cat crossing a muddy vacant lot-um-mm.
but he sure did resemble all OF the bon.
bons and then sonnet However. nobody at
very keeniy. 1t was SO palpably show
offish He seemed SO manifestly out for
the purpose OF making a hit. And he was
so Internally cock-sure and perky in his
moves. Now far be 1t from US to say
SO right out aloud. but 1t must be recorded
that, as the swirling crowd regarded that
perky young man engaged In showing 'em
how to skate backwards, the general wish,
the general hope. seemed to be that he'd
well. they didn't actually want him to
break his neck or anything like that, but
they certainly seemed TO be roofing for II
that he'd-er-well. that something would
happen to slightly decrease his artificial
chest expansion. And they all took to
watching him, as they swirIed by, In a
fascinated sort of way, with this perfectly
human thought yelling up in their beings.
1t happened.
Something went wrong with the top
lofty young man In his moment of pride,
and, Just as he Was wheeling backward on
one foot-whangl he began to pun at the
Intangible air like a fiddler crab caught
In a hand-net and-ker-thudi down he went.
He sat down with about nine times the
force even of grouchy representative who
is mad because he's failed to catch
the Speakers eye. 1t Is a sad thing to
relate that the ker-thud he made seemed
to be actual music in the ears OF the whiri-
ing throng They just gurgled in their