When it's time to leave, we all pile in my dad's car with my brother and his friends. Us younger girls trying to act cool in front of the older guys. No seat belts were required back then so we squished in, all six of us in a small sedan. Young bodies touching, boys and girls, thrilling and terrifying at the same time.
The excitement builds during the half hour drive out of town. We giggle and fidget in anticipation. Dreams and fantasies of what might happen tonight....what adventures await.
We finally arrive! We all scramble out of the car, straighten our clothes, and rush inside, hearts racing. We have to pay and rent our skates, and oh it took so long to get those skates on. Hurry so we can get out there! The loud music beckons us onto the skate floor.
Clap for the Wolfman is playing as we enter the rink, going with the flow of traffic, picking up speed, around and around the wooden oval shaped floor. The sound of metal wheels on wood synchronizes with the beat of the music. My friends and I hold hands in a chain, trying not to break apart as we round the corners.
Then I see him....and my heart flies up in my chest. It's him, Mark Northridge, the love of my young girl life. My brother's best friend's brother. Our families are friends. I've had my heart set on him since the moment I first saw him in the elementary school hallway. His shoulder length blonde hair that hung over one eye, his flashing blue eyes and his lopsided grin stole my heart almost immediately.
I'd had a crush on him for years. We were friends but did he feel more for me than that? He was so quiet and shy, I couldn't be sure of anything. He was always kind to me and seemed to enjoy my company.... I always held out hope.
I catch his eye and he shyly waves. I smile and I'm sure I add a little more flair and style to my skating form as I continue around the rink. Eric Clapton is singing "I shot the sheriff...." as my friends and I talk and giggle as we skate. My eyes never lose sight of Mark.
The night flows on. Races, games and couples skate have come and gone as the DJ has kept us entertained. We take a few soda and snack breaks, sitting in the dark watching the other skaters and averting our eyes to the older teenage couples making out in dark corners.
It's almost time to go and my heart is feeling heavy as my dream of skating the couples dance with Mark did not come to pass.
Then it's the last song of the night and it's girls' choice. Girls' choice? My heart starts racing as I wonder, "Should I ask him? What if he says 'No?' Do I possibly have the nerve?" And then I hear Frankie Vallie crooning "Oh what a night... late December back in '63..." and it's my most favorite song in the whole world and I feel my body get up off the bench, and I am floating over to Mark where he is sitting, and I hear myself asking him if he would like to skate with me, and then I hear him say "Yes" and we are on the skating floor and then.....he smiles at me and takes my hand in his.....and it's not just a friendly hand holding...he slowly and deliberately intertwines his fingers with mine! And I swear my little heart is going to pop right out of my chest at that very moment. I can hardly breathe as we skate slowly together, hand-in-hand. And I never want that song to end.
To this day, whenever I hear any of those songs from that long ago year of Friday nights at the roller rink, all those pre-teen memories and feelings come flooding back and I am transported back in time -- to a time of innocence and coming of age. And that song by The Four Seasons will always hold a special place in my heart. A reminder of that one magical evening when I was Mark's special girl for three minutes at the skating rink. "I remember, what a night..."
Is there a special night in your memory?
Oh yeah, I have a moment I will never forget. Mine doesn't go back as far as yours, but my ex fiancee danced with me in the grocery store. The Stylistics, "You Make Me Feel Brand New" came over the radio. He grabbed my hand, turned me around, and danced with me till the song was over. He didn't care who was watching, or where we were at....He was such a romantic!! He also used to chase me around the store with the hot dog pokers that are used for camping. We had some fun times....
ReplyDeleteGreat post Michael Ann!! You brought memories flooding back.
Oh wow, that is VERY romantic, Angie! I'm glad I brought back some nice memories today :-)
ReplyDeleteI remember when the hot chick always asked someone else (i'd make a sad face here, but that is alittle....you know)
ReplyDeleteAnyway that was a really great post. What ever happened to Mark Northridge? Don't keep a blogger hanging.
THe Cranky Old Man
Yeah, what happened to Mark? Inquiring bloggers want to know!
ReplyDeleteThis blog was darling. I loved it and enjoyed reading it. Brings me back to the first time a boy held my hand at Knott's Berry Farm. Or my first kiss on my washing machine. Thanks for the fun memories.
ReplyDeleteJulie, first kiss on the washing machine? Umm.... LOL! For those inquiring minds... My dad was in the Army, so we moved a lot. We were three years at Ft. Meade, MD where I met Mark. We all had to move away, so eventually we lost touch. I have not tried to look Mark up on Face Book but maybe I should! And no, he never became my boyfriend, much to my sadness. But I did get a kiss from him the last time I saw him!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome!! I loved it :)
ReplyDeleteAnd as a roller skatin' fan (but in the 90's lol) I can relate all too well to that 'Twilight' skate with some boy...thanks for the memory Michael Ann and oh I do love that song too "what a very special time for me..."
But now you've got me thinking about my own daughter who is in Yr 6 and I feel slightly nauseated at the thought of the same scenario!
Oh, that was a beautiful story, what fun those days those were. And so grand that you can remember all of it.
ReplyDeleteMy kids has separate parties at a roller skating rink last year for their birthdays, I think this place was built in the seventies, black lights and all.
Thanks for the memories
Excellently written post Michael Ann and great content! I felt like a fly on the wall watching you!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many songs that I remember, but Nielson's "Without You" would definately be one of them, and "Spirit in the Sky" another, my cousin Julie and I used to dance to that one!
What a totally fun and exhilerating memory!
ReplyDeleteYou took me back to my early teens, Michael Ann. You gave me the genie's lamp to relive my childhood where life is wonderful, terrifying and oh, so much fun!!
Who cares that I'm now a lot older than I care to admit? In my heart and in my soul, I'm young, naive...ALIVE!
Bless you!
What fun it was to tag along with you on this memory. My memory of pre-teen days is quite vague. I think I blocked most of it out. But I do remember some fun times at the skating rink.....
ReplyDeleteWhat fun it was to tag along with you on this memory. My memory of pre-teen days is quite vague. I think I blocked most of it out. But I do remember some fun times at the skating rink.....
ReplyDeleteAh, the roller rink! We used to hang out there in middle school too. And those songs are all stuck in my head now. What fun memories. Wish I had a special roller rink memory, but they all kind of jumble together. This is a fun post!
ReplyDeleteOh what a sweet story! I can feel the sweet ambience. It brings back memories. I used to have roller skate nights too but I was much older than 6th grade. Back when I was around 18 the roller rink was one of the hot social spots in town and I was pretty darn good at it. Recently on a skating expedition with my kids' youth group I tried to do the one-legged squat and found out the hard way the difference a three decades can make in a person's body! I can still hobble around a rink though.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful! First love is so innocent and so fragile.
ReplyDeleteHearing from Mark after this would make a great Part 2
ReplyDeleteInnocent moments are memorable ones. Holding hands around the rink starts the eyes to twinkling and makes you feel like you're starring in your own movie on reflection...Thanks for sharing. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how strongly connected our emotions are to songs from our pre-teen and teen years! I think this is why we can listen to those songs for the rest of our lives without getting sick of them. And yes, do tell about what happened with Mark!!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this! I spent a lot of hours at the roller rink the summer after 6th grade. I never worked up the nerve to ask a guy to skate with me, but I wish I would have.
ReplyDeleteIn my past, not a roller skate rink, but the flooded, frozen over soccer field on the outskirts of the Dutch village where I lived in my early teens. I as well had that one boy in mind, and yes, we held hands as we circled the field. Thanks for the memories, Michael Ann, yours and mine :-)
ReplyDeleteMichael Ann, how delightful to read this story about your first teen love! Ah, how I'm transported to my own teen years thanks to your story! And I giggle as I remember how much I hated putting on skates much like you! My favorite teen memory involved sneaking out at night through an open window with my sister to meet Belgian brothers Serge and Allan who were our boyfriends at the time. Good times, lady, good times.
ReplyDeleteWow, this took me back. The ice rink was the place for us, and my first love (not crush, actual love) skated around the rink with me. He'd help me off the ice when I fell, brush me off, then hold my hand to keep me from falling again (I was not very coordinated - he played hockey).
ReplyDeleteHe ended up being my big heartbreak, but you took me back to the good memories with him. Thanks!
I was transported to that time and I remember those little heart flutters a young girl gets when they first see the "crush". Mine was on a Vespa in Italy...Oh my God it seems like such a long time ago.....
ReplyDeleteI love this post. You really captured the excitement, the exuberance of your youth. If you ask me, it's very reminiscent of "American Graffiti." Nice!
ReplyDeleteHow romantic,wasn't the songs lovely back then,they meant something,you could sing along to them because you could understand the words.
ReplyDelete