Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Flash fic: Wheels



Wheels

Lake wasn’t sure if it was his new skates or all those vitamins, but either way, he’d finally, in his eighty-eighth year, made it around the Great Skate roller rink fifteen times without falling. The skates were terrific: black leather, bright orange stop, and they fit like gloves. Of course, it could be senility. Weren’t old men supposed to be afraid of breaking hips, or worse, looking like fools?

Teenage girls blew him kisses and laughed as they flew by. He smiled back, gliding off the polished wood and onto the carpet for a breather.

A girl in white skates with pink poms skated over.

“Cool. Wanna get a Coke?”

Damnation. Life never ceased to surprise.


*



One of several attempts for Boxing With Pencils. I fail at word limits. 

If you're so inclined, look them up. Like Lily's Friday Prediction, they offer three words, and you must write a story in under a hundred and put it in the comments. The words for this challenge were: senility, carpet, damnation.

This piece is dedicated to my grandpa, who is 92. He stopped skating years ago, but he took us every Sunday when I was a kid. He had his own black leather skates, and he taught me to skate with a pillow tied to my butt with rope. He could skate forwards and back and was the most graceful man on the floor. 

And if you're wondering, I can still Shoot the Duck. *g*




6 comments:

  1. I love it. You have such a talent for voice.

    I remember Friday night skating, when we were twelve. Disco lights, "Flashlight" playing (yeah, I'm that old). Good times.

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  2. Damn, happiness! Quelle surprise! It´s wonderful =) You could have gone with the damnation-challenge… Wait, horror? Oh, okay =)

    I love the image of grandpa and tiny you tied to a pillow =)

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  3. I liked that a lot, and your added commentary added to the enjoyment. I sometimes watch movies on cable if I have insomnia. About a month ago I saw "Roller Boogie" from 1979, starring Linda Blair. Far out and oh so cheesy, but soemtimes I get nostalgic for cheesey 70's flicks. Joelle Charbonneau has two crime novels out where the MC is a skater. Have not read them, yet, but figured I would let you know.

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  4. Grayson -- I'm old too! :) Hey, guess what I got in the mail from Amazon? Yep! I resisted the urge to read your story, as I want to read the entire collection in its entirety, and I'm in the middle of a book right now. But it's next, and I can't wait. Sounds very intriguing.

    A -- "Senility" threw me off. :) But that's okay, because all my attempts were somewhat nostalgic and I enjoyed it. Although, it is October, and time for some scary stories...

    Sean -- Oh my gosh, I haven't seen "Roller Boogie" in years! I used to love it when I was a kid/teenager. Thanks for the heads up on Charbonneau. Interesting MC.

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  5. Ohmygod, you bought the book? Awesome! I hope it lives up to expectation. I enjoyed the other stories, and I'm really pleased to be a part of them.

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