Rubberless wheels, corse leather straps with tiny buckles lashing my sneaker shod feet to the flat metal slats that slid all the way out for my growing feet. I loved them. They made me feel tall and strong and fast. They were bare bones, and glamour-less, lacking subtlety and style, loud and rattling. They magnified every pebble and patch of sandy pavement with shin shaking vibrations and song. They were freedom to my childish mind. My heart thudding wildly, wind in my hair, gliding along a few inches closer to heaven.
