Everything we planned was off this weekend. It rained Saturday and the sun shone Sunday,
we canceled Saturday and nothing was planned for Sunday. But the girls had roller derby Saturday night
at John Jay College. It was their first
real scrimmage. And the scene was quite
a spectacle, full of the camp and brutal hits.
 |
| Our girls, the runaways, romones and whip it. |
The girls are part of Jr League. They were skating at half time of the big
event on Saturday. The Gotham Girls
Roller Derby event of the night was:
Walking into the match at John Jay, I felt
like I was in line to see the Runaways, with lipstick, tight jeans, heavy eye
makeup, and lipstick on everyone.
A woman passed me a purple sign declaring,
“PAIN.”
“PAIN.”
“Good choice,” she responded.
The enthusiasm was everywhere. It was as if the Warriors race was taking
place on skates.
In the Shepard house, Whip It, the film tracing a story of roller derby drama, is in the
pantheon, along with Rocky Horror and Pitch Perfect.
So we joined the fans to cheer for Queens of Pain vs The Bronx Gridlock.
Lead by Susy Hotrod and Shortstop, the Queens
dominated, with roaring crowds cheering.
Our girls, Bernie Slammers and the Scarlett Shredder
skated at half time. The other team was
lead by Leonardo Decapitated.
I kept screamed, “Go Babe Ruthless!”
“That’s from Whip It!” Caroline nodded.
“You think Birdman doesn’t want to see girls
in fishnet skating, beating each other up?”
I was amazed to see how much of a real sport
it really was. We watched with Dan, the
girls’ cool science teacher. It was like a rugby scrum on wheels, moving in a circle for 60 minutes. Sometimes the jammers got ahead, but getting through the pack was tough.
Everyone hurled themselves around the
ice. Shortstop’s offence and Susy Hotrod’s
defense, won the day in the tight match.
It was a majestic weekend. The following day,
we wandered to Judson, hung out in Washington Square Park with Doris
Diether, who used
to organize with Jane Jacobs. Countless people
in the entire park greeted her, even the birds.
"Its always a beautiful day when I see her," smiled one of the doormen at the Washington Square Hotel.
"Its always a beautiful day when I see her," smiled one of the doormen at the Washington Square Hotel.
“Here is my friend,” she smiling giving a Pidgeon
she had named, Opal, sharing some nuts.
So we wandered and played and skated through
this upside down spring, with a warm winter, a freezing spring, and a world
turned upside down.
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