High roller
story by Joshua Lee Kelsey
The “faster, newer, slicker” technology-driven world yields to the past inside the Circus Skate Roller Skating Rink in Murray.
Joe Nanny caringly maintains the time machine.
Kids, literally and figuratively, wearing eight wheels split between two boots spend weekend nights with only one concern: staying upright.
Joe, 70, the emcee and retired Army officer, left the military after two tours in Vietnam. He wanted to return to his roots, leave some negativity behind and do something positive.
“Positive” transformed to the rink.
“You know, my momma actually got mad at me when I was born ’cause I came out with skates on,” Joe said with a wide grin.
On a Friday night, a digital clock blinked to 7:45 p.m., and Joe skateboarded across the rink floor to the doors that opened in 15 minutes. Joe does not rush — any time. And no one skateboards on the rink floor but Joe.
He pulls open blinds that separate peace inside from chaos outside, and the throng presses toward the door.
At 8 p.m., the 15 minutes that passed turns to three decades passed.
He greets each patron by name, and everyone greets him the same as they rush to give Joe $5 at the turnstile. Those presenting crumpled money do not advance until they smooth it. Joe expects that courtesy.
The night passes sans arguments or dustups. Joe achieves that by offering games and playing song requests.
But camaraderie — and Joe — brings the crowd back night after night. Like the theme song from the TV show “Cheers” notes, “sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name.”
About 15 minutes out, Joe settles the crowd for the 10:30 p.m. shutdown: The lights dim, the music slows.
Some squeeze in a few more passes, like journalists pushing a deadline. But most roll off the floor to remove skates and head to the door. Joe beats them there, ready to say “goodbye” to each by name. He asks if they enjoyed the skate.
The rink becomes silent. Joe chains the doors and shuts off the lights.
The past fades to the present. Today tilts toward tomorrow.
And tomorrow Joe turns back the clock . . . again.
Sitting on the front counter, Joe Nanny, 70, owner and operator of Circus Skate in Murray puts on his roller skates prior to sweeping and mopping his rink.
Joe Nanny, 70, owner and operator of Circus Skate in Murray speed-sweeps his rink by wearing roller skates while he cleans.
Always ensuring his equipment is in top working order, Joe Nanny, 70, owner and operator of Circus Skate in Murray methodically cleans and maintains each pair of roller skates.
Brandon Smith, 10, of Murray laces up his roller skates before rushing to the rink to join his friends on the rink of Circus Skate. Smith is one of many regulars who visit the rink weekly.
Joe Nanny, 70, owner and operator of Circus Skate in Murray speed-sweeps his rink by wearing roller skates while he cleans.
_JLK0568, Murray, Kentucky (Oct. 31, 2009) - (Photo by Joshua Lee Kelsey)
Greeting every child by name, Joe Nanny, 70, owner and operator of Circus Skate in Murray opens the doors to Circus. Nanny began roller skating when he was 4-years old. Following the resignation of his Army officership after 8-years of service, including the Vietnam conflict, Nanny decided to return to his roots and open Circus Skate in order to bring peace and fun to the children. "After years of war," Nanny says, "doing something to make people smile just sounded like a good way to live."
Local kids enjoy spending weekend nights at Circus Skate because it provides them a safe place to hang out and have fun.
Three shelves are filled with skates available for rent at Circus Skate in Murray.
In the shadows of a darkened roller rink, Joe Nanney, 70, owner and operator of Circus Skate in Murray speed sweeps his rink wearing roller skates.
Roller blades ready for a go around the rink at Circus Skate in Murray.
Roller skating is alive and well in Murray, as dozens of kids pack the rink of Circus Skate every Friday and Saturday night.
The lone employee of Circus Skate in Murray searches for roller skates that have been placed in the wrong bins.
Two regulars of Circus Skate in Murray get their daily exercise by racing each other around the rink minutes before closing time.
_JLK0574, Murray, Kentucky (Oct. 31, 2009) - (Photo by Joshua Lee Kelsey)
A regular of Circus Skate races around the near empty rink.
Jennifer Roberts, 39, a native of Whitesburg waits to greets visitors to the Double Pen House, an attraction at The Homeplace, a replica 1860s working farm. Roberts, an interpreter at Homeplace, performs and explains routine tasks common to farms in the 1860's.
Jennifer Roberts, 39, of Murray researches recipes on her home computer while her two labradors wait in her laundry room.