As might be expected, the Veterans Memorial Senior Center in Redwood City usually attracts an older clientele. But on December 2, the doors were opened to teens who were invited to travel back to the 1950s, when roller skating was in vogue.
And as only teenagers can, they donned the boots with wheels and then squealed in delight while wobbling like toddlers and falling to the hardwood floor. Aided by a couple of seasoned skaters and an instructor, most began to get the hang of it.
The event was the idea of Program Coordinator Telisha Brent of the Redwood City Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department. “Teens are the most underserved demographic in our community,” she asserts. “I wanted to do whatever it took to get them out and socialize.”
Brent hopes to do it again in April and have it become a quarterly experience. Judging from how many teens were calling their friends on their cellphones and urging them to hurry over, Brent may have hit on something.
