For some odd reason I have been thinking about this Keep On Truckin’ t-shirt I had in the late 70’s during the heyday of the roller-skating era. I had it made at the mall, at a store called Shirt Barn where all the cool kids went. I remember waiting while they put the decal on the front of the shirt and my name on the back. I wore that shirt every Saturday to the USA Roller Rink. All I needed was that t-shirt, my skates, and a disco ball to make me happy. And a ride. I needed a ride. 

 So, when I was at brunch with my friend not too long ago and she told me she had been roller skating since she needed something to do, I put down my avocado toast and said, “Oh my God, I want to go.” We’ve been hitting the roller rink every Sunday since. I saw it as a sign from the universe because I’d been worrying about the amount of time I was devoting to thinking about my t-shirt. Now I knew.  

I did a quick Google search to see if roller rinks were serving alcohol.

Back when my daughter was playing volleyball a couple of the sports complexes served booze; mostly to give the parents something to do. I was delighted to see that alcohol wasn’t allowed, that common sense prevailed, and people agreed that drunk roller skating was not a good idea. Despite offering birthday parties. 

I continued searching for interesting things about skating, wondering how it all began in the first place. I learned that in 1735 Belgian born John Joseph Merlin wanted to make a smashing entrance to a masquerade party, so he invented shoes with wheels. He neglected to invent brakes, so while he skated through the party playing a violin, he lacked the ability to stop and plowed into a mirror, breaking the violin and injuring himself. 

According to the National Museum of Roller Skating a French inventor by the name of M. Petitbled decided to not only design skates with four wheels, but he also convinced people that skating was an approved activity for men and women to do together. This meant Victorian couples were not restricted to severe chaperoning rules such as no touching and could now focus on the fine art of flirting with a fan. Little did the Victorians know what was to come. 

Flash forward to the late 70’s, early 80’s skating culture and Studio 54.

Those were the years I was wearing my Keep On Truckin’ t-shirt. We are talking about the disco era, and movies like Skatetown USA, Roller Boogie, and Cher’s hit song Hell on Wheels were reinforcing what my young self knew; skating was fun, skating was cool, and skating was freedom. Until it was not, and the roller rink closed. 

I’m not sure what happened to the t-shirt and when I stopped wearing it, but I imagine it was around the time when I got the message that I was supposed to be cute, and cute girls didn’t wear what was probably by then a faded Keep On Truckin’ shirt. I must have traded it in for my Shaun Cassidy shirt and matching bell bottom jeans. Before the roller-skating rink closed, I also started feeling boys weren’t that interested in girls that were interested in skating. So, I slowed down on the skating because that’s what I thought I was supposed to do, but I sped up in other ways. Oddly, people seemed much more comfortable with the speed of teenage drinking and boys. Who would have thought? 

After a lifetime of forgetting who I was because I was concentrating on all the things I was supposed to be, I decided to try and remember who I wanted to be. That kind of thinking brought me to sobriety a few years ago, and recently it brought me back to the t-shirt, which made me start remembering the things that brought me joy when I was younger, and it all came together and landed at the roller rink. I was going back in time to when things were a lot less complicated.  

My friend and I have gone to the rink every Sunday since I got my skates.

Admission is $12, and the locker is $.50. Not a bad price for an afternoon of entertainment. I would have spent that much on a glass of questionable wine in the old days.  

The rink is a lot different than I remember. Over the years they must have invented fluorescent carpet and wallpaper, and the disco ball seems to have been replaced with laser lights, and I love it. I can be twelve years old again with my wheels turning underneath me, the music beating in my heart, and the wind in my hair. Skating gives me the ability to lose myself in thought while at the same time finding myself. I wanted to see if I was the only one with so many strong emotions attached to the roller rink, so I asked members of a Facebook group devoted to skating.

Here is a sample of some of the comments: 

“My daughter gave me skates for my 63rd birthday, she thought I’d enjoy skating at my grandkid’s parties…. I’ve been having a great time skating ever since!” 

“If I didn’t have skating in my life I wouldn’t be here, skating keeps my soul alive.” 

“41 years ago, I met my first love at the rink… we reunited the love for each other, and the love of skating started after all the years that past… absolutely loving it and bringing back old memories of us when we were young, now in our 60’s, holding hands and helping each other just balance.” 

“The skate floor has been a lifesaver for me, not only physically but mentally. It got me through many changes in my life. From a divorce to the loss of my father, and my daughter growing up and off to college. Skating has been my one constant that I can count on. It is my therapy. I love it.” 

The stories all shared a common theme centered around mental health, exercise, connection, and joy. I smiled as I read the words, thinking about how we are all so much alike; deep down searching for the same things. There are so many ways to get there, and skating is not only transporting me back in time, but it’s also bringing me back to myself. I read recently that Brene Brown called sobriety her superpower. I love that, and I feel that way too. But I also think sobriety is a time machine, because it has the power to return us to who we used to be, before the world became a bit too complicated, a bit too painful, and a bit too messy.  

Cher – Hell on Wheels

Interested in sober skating?

Check out: @soberskategang on IG or this Sober Roller Skaters group on Reddit.

Feeling inspired? You could organize a Sober Skate event in your city! Check out this one that happened in Fall 2023: ‘Skate 4 Sobriety’ coming to Texas Skateland | KWKT – FOX 44 (fox44news.com)

---

HAPPY EVERY HOUR: Throwback Thirsty Thursday Booze Free beverages from childhood (thesobercurator.com)

---

SOBER LIFESTYLE: Riding the sober lifestyle wave? You’re in good company! We’re on a mission to shatter the clichés around addiction, proving that sober is far from dull. We’re your go-to source for upbeat content that celebrates living life in high definition, sans alcohol. Our lifestyle section? Consider it your ultimate hub for all things sober-awesome. Because who says you need a drink to have a good time? Not us!

SOBER LIFESTYLE COLUMNS:

#ADDTOCART features unique sobriety gifts, swag, products, and miscellaneous merch we adore. Plus, we love discovering and featuring small businesses founded by people in recovery.

BREAK FREE FOUNDATION advocates to end the stigma of mental health, co-occurring disorders, and substance use disorders for those to and through recovery.

CURATED CRAFTS will give you fun and easy ideas to keep your hands and your mind busy. Art therapy is good for the soul!

Are you a Sober Foodie? ENOUGH IS A FEAST by Sober Curator Contributor & Wellness Guru Megan Swan covers healthy, and sometimes lazy recipes and mindful eating tips that align with your alcohol-free lifestyle.

FIRST TIMERS Sober Curator Contributor Megan Wright is the purveyor of the philosophy “When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time?”

LAUGHING WITHOUT LIQUOR Sober Curator Contributors Tamar Medford and Lane Kennedy will show you how to laugh your way to a booze-free lifestyle.

SOBER SWEAT with Sober Curator Contributor Ashley Sunderland will pump you up!  Here, you will find quick workouts and nutrition tips that are too legit. (Too legit to quit!)

SOBER UNBUZZED FEED is a collection of 24 Lists, each featuring 24 inspiring ideas, actions, and motivations to guide you toward being your best sober self in 2024.

SOBRIETY ON THE SPECTRUM is a guide to recovery, twelve steps, and otherwise, for and about #ACTUALLYAUTISTIC alcoholics

YOU’VE BEEN SELECTED Sober Curator Contributor Kate Vitela has been an RN in Pacific Northwest for over two decades and sober since 2018.  You’ve Been Selected is a column that describes her journey through addiction, eating disorders, and what is now known as Drunkorexia.

WALK YOUR TALK with Sober Fashionistas Kate Vitala, Harley Skorpenske, and Alexandra Nyman. This section celebrates fashion and the role it plays in our recovery. Getting ready for life can be just as fun, if not more fun, now that we’re sober…because drunk never looks good.

WELLNESS AS A WAY OF LIFE: Wellness Coach and Sober Curator Contributor Megan Swan will help you master your health and wellness routines as a way of life. This podcast is for ambitious women who are looking to live with more sustainable energy, confidence, mental clarity and ease.

---

A Disco Ball is Hundreds of Pieces of Broken Glass, Put Together to Make a Magical Ball of Light. You are NOT Broken, Friend. You are a DISCO BALL!

Resources Are Available

If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.

Subscribe to The Sober Curator on YouTube