In case you don't have children, or aren't ever around them, Heelys happened over Christmas. In the days following the holiday, a trip to the mall or the grocery store saw few children if any actually walking around. No, they were rolling. This sight, of course, brought up the following conversation with my wife:
"How is it that they all manage to roll around like that and never fall?" she asked. To which I replied, "Well, its not like its hard, all you have to do is put down your toes to stop. I would imagine no one ever falls on those things."
In case you're wondering, even as I said those lines, my mind generated glorious visions of a kid eating it while rolling through the mall.
That night, my visions came through. Journeying along to the nearest Blockbuster, we found a movie and were stuck in line behind a mother and her two sons who found the tile section around the main counter to be their own personal Heelys park. I'm pretty sure everyone else in line was having the same though I was, "Wreck...Come on, destroy some stuff..."
Well as the mother moved up to pay for her movie, brother #1 came screaming around the counter expecting to stop near where his mother was in line, not where she was much closer at the register, which lead to his attempting what I can only assume was a rollerblade instinct stop as he promptly fell right on his butt. I stifled my laughter as he looked up, around, and put on the strong face. He arose and quietly rolled towards the exit, ready to leave the site of his fall.
His older brother, though, was not to be outdown. With a shout of "I can go faster," he careened around the edge of the counter and only then realized where mom was at. Trying to stop quickly, he opted for a spin move, which flung his arms into a candy display, knocking it on the ground, and spun him directly into a pillar that supported the rope for the line, which he took in the stomach, doubling over with an "oof!"
That's when I lost it, laughing uncontrollably. Mom lost it, too, berating the child and dragging him on his heels straight out of the video store.
So all this brought up the real question regarding Heelys in my mind, will a child ever again be able to dig his, or her, heels in the ground to stop what they dont want?
