Last Night I went to Reena's 26th birthday party at the Roxy Roller Disco. We were having a grand old time. I have never seen people skate like that before. I mean these people are hardcore roller skaters. Sure, rollerbladers represented but the skaters ruled the rink. From the moment my friend, Sage, and me walked in and laced up our skates, we rocked to classic jams like Rob Base's It Takes Two and Stardust's Music Sounds Better with You. It was crowded like I've never seen a roller disco party. True, I hadn't actually been to a roller skating rink since I was in college, but it was a hustle and bustle of frenetic roller joy...
It was just a few minutes after midnight because we just sang Happy Birthday to Reena as her actual birthday began. A few of us got back onto the rink to skate after that. As I was turning the corner of the round, I noticed a crowd of people around what appeared to be a man that passed out drunk on his face. I stopped skating and joined the rubberneckers. It was no drunken black out at all, it appeared that this man had a heart attack. A few minutes later, management told the people to give him air and instructed the skaters to move to one side of the rink, while they turned the large man over and proceeded to give him CPR. They went on to give him CPR for like twenty minutes or more before the paramedics arrived. When EMS got on the rink, they paddled him with electricity at least three times without a response. We all stood in shock and stared as a group of people tried to revive this man.
It turns out that this guy was regular at the Roxy. An onlooker told me this man's name was John and I actually remember him smiling and saying hello to me first thing when I got there. He had been going there for years and apparently, he skated from opening at 8pm till 2AM, the end of night, every Wednesday, for many years. He was 43 years old and he was very overweight. I don't think I will ever forget the sight of the people pushing on his large bare belly and trying to put breath back into him frantically. He never responded though and apparently, the paramedics couldn't do anymore so the management asked us all to evacuate the premises and collect vouchers to come back, free of charge, at any time. That big roller disco daddy died on the rink in front of about 70 or so people. It was really really sad, but I'd like to think that John died doing what he really loved, roller skating at the Roxy.
I can recall trying to say prayer for John as I was staring in horror. Something inside of me said, it was of no use, I couldn't finish my prayers even though I tried because his number was up. When I got home last night, after all the excitement, I tried to sooth myself to sleep with my usual herbal nightcap and I couldn't warm my hands up. They were ice cold as I laid down in my bed trying to sleep and not because I was outside, in fact, I had shared a cab ride home with my friend over an hour earlier. Maybe they were ice cold because my soul was touched by the coldness of death, maybe it was poor circulation. Maybe I'm just grasping for a reason, but I cannot remember my hands ever feeling so cold indoors. Regardless, I know that people die every day, but not in front of my eyes. I never felt a person's soul leave their body before, but last night at the Roxy, we all most certainly did. RIP, John, with your Roller Skates on!
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