I just got back from my first homeschool skating party. It's going to take me some time to recover.
The event was held at Bell's rink in New Haven, the location of every skating party of my elementary school. Driving there I half wondered how they would handle the Rock-N-Robin (where boys line up on one side and girls on the other and if you are brave enough you leave your side and skate around once. If you are really brave you ask a member of the opposite sex to skate with you... while holding hands) and I wondered if Bells would be asked to turn off an inappopriate song.
I've come to learn that there are many kinds of Fort Wayne homeschoolers. There are the ones you think of stereotypically. You know, the ones that raise their own goats. I've also found that there are wiccan homeschoolers and eco-homeschoolers (yes, I'm being redundant) and all shades in between. I guess I wasn't prepared for what I was to encounter.
There was no Rock-N-Robin. No Disco Duck. No High School Musical songs. Not even any Beatles or 50s rock. Not even the innocent Hokey Pokey!!!! The music was apparently selected by a conservative Amish gentleman from the 1890s. Instrumental hymns with strings ruled the day. This, in the place where I experienced the disco and post disco era of the very early 80s... a major disconnect.
In addition to having three cakes by the snack bar ("Have a blessed 2009!") all of the video games, pinball machines, and ticket games were turned off. Don't they know that homeschoolers love The House of the Dead 2?!?!?
Somehow I was able to overcome the lack of blaring hip-hop music and had a great time skating with my daughters. There was no need to worry about inappropriate music (though I really wanted to slip the DJ a buck and ask him to play Metallica), there were no young girls showing too much skin, no skater punks knocking over children. A good time was had by all, although Neal Carr failed to show up to preach a brief Bible message.
HA! I had heard that the crowd there was what some of my friends call "The Buns & Jumpers" crowd. I guess you have now more than confirmed that idea.
ReplyDeleteHeather (Melynda's newish friend)
Yes, there were some jumpers there but no buns. Are these people partial to mandolins in their music?
ReplyDeleteNo, no...slip the DJ a fiver to play "Devil Inside" Oh, and let me know. I wanna be there to watch!
ReplyDeleteI'm probably the only reader who gets the "Neal Carr" reference (although, technically, it's "Neale") and I grew up skating at Bells. I didn't know that it was still there. How cool.
ReplyDeleteOur church does a skating thing where we rent out a rink and it's a blast. In fact, where doing it this week, I think. Good clean fun, but you sure do get some odd looks when you try to skate with other people's wives during the couples skate.
My boys want to dye their hair blue and purple for one of those events. :)
ReplyDeleteI find it really disconcerting to skate to instrumental hymns.
Personally I was offended that no one seemed offended by any offensive music or videogames. It should be noted that they failed to drape a sheet over the video games so the garish zombies on House of the Dead 2 was visible to all.
ReplyDeleteWe usually go to the homeschool convention in Indy. I am always tempted to apply fake tatoos and wear a short skirt with fish net stockings to the event....along with someone else's name tag of course. I think my hubby would not allow such behavior though. :o) I'm enough out of place as it is in my PANTS (gasp!) and SHORT HAIR with dangly ear rings (BIGGER GASP).
ReplyDeleteOh, and my hubby has shown up there in his public school attire which I think is funny. One guy acted like it was really sad for us and that DH should FLEE from his job when he found out that DH is a public school teacher. Ha.
Heather, your real tattoo's should work just fine.
ReplyDeleteit was soo FUN!
ReplyDelete