The days of the flying elbows

Anth and I watched Kansas City Bomber last night, a 1972 film starring Raquel Welch as KC Carr, that examines the trials and tribulations of a roller derby mama. We were pleasantly surprised when KC was almost immediately traded to the Portland Logger team. We tried to figure out some of the locations in Portland circa 1972. We managed to place her housboat right off the I205 bridge. And the old Multnomah County Expo Center looked pretty rad.

The Portland stuff was cool, but far from the highlight of the movie. It was all hot pants and flying elbows. Full of scheming greasy coaches, orchestrated drama and more fake punches than a pro-wrestling match. It's worth watching just to see the random selection of audience members they decide to feature during the matches. They either chose old women with no teeth making obscene gestures or little kids screeching at the tops of their lungs.

All of the other skaters featured in the movie were actual roller derby stars of the time. I read a bunch about them online this morning. Different city every night, setting up and tearing down the track, and back on the bus ot the next match. Hell of a lifestyle.

Anth and I went skating today. It's been three weeks since I skated at Oaks Park for the first time. I can't begin to tell you the difference. The first time I was there, my shins hurt really badly, and I had to sit down after 3 or 4 laps because I was exhausted. Today, I was out there for an hour straight with a couple of breaks for stretching, practicing stops, and practicing falling and getting up. I currently have a huge smile on my face. It felt so good.