## Ropes and Skates (Good Combination?) Part 4: Nope

Post by jennifer » Tue Mar 03, 2009 8:08 pm

Hi, first of all I need to apologize to everyone for not getting this posted soon. My sister Amy came home and stayed with me and my brother recently. This is the first time that I have been able to spend this much time with her in 2 years and I let it take precedence over working on my story. I should have finished and posted this about 2 weeks ago, but I have been rather busy as of late. Anyways, this is the fourth and final part to this story. I know it ends a little bit sketchy, but I hope everyone enjoys it anyway. Here we go.
The day was getting warmer as we eased into the early part of the middle of the day. Our group had finished consuming their meal and was beginning the preparations to move forward with the remainder of our plans for the outing. Sean and I gathered up the remainder of the refuse from the meal and began either repacking it in the trailer or disposing of it in the trash can. It had been a good lunch and a good rest in the shade from the day so far. Our immediate plans hadnâ€™t changed all that much. Once we finished our meal, my brother Sean returned to where he had been seated and returned to his reading. He still had quite a ways to go. But, he kept at the book steadily and hoped to finish it before the end of the week. Which, would be no small feat. His plans for the day differed from the rest of us. He was here only to maintain a precense and nothing more.
While my brother returned to reading comfortably in the shade of the pavilion, the rest of us began our preparations. The original agenda for the day had gone according to plan so far. The plan was to skate down to the park here; take a rest from the trip down; eat lunch; do some more skating or just hang out and then head home for the evening. The agenda was informal and loose at best, but that was where our events of the day so far had taken us. We had a little bit of tying up along the way as well. Overall, everything was going steadily along so far. I just hoped it would continue that way. The remainder of our group began to get our skates and the safety stuff we had each brought back on. So far, midday had reached the park and we still had it all to ourselves. It was quiet and out of the way from the rest of the town. When the city had built the new swimming pool near the newer of the two parks, this one lost most of the luster it once had as a community gathering point.
Once everything was set and we were all geared up, we began to make our way up the sidewalk towards the basketball court. The sidewalk ran close to it, but not all the way there. We still had to cross a small uphill stretch through the grass to reach the court itself. Away from the sidewalks and the trail that lead in, the park only had two suitable areas for skating. Either the parking lot or the basketball court. I suppose there were the two tennis courts as well, but there was a posted warning that you had to wear tennis shoes inside. I guess that pretty much ruled out skating there. The parking lot was much larger than the court and paved over with black top. Still, the disuse of the park had caused it to fall into disrepair over the years. This left he surface of the parking lot cracked at several places in the blacktop and uneven in others. Also, there was the remote chance that a car might come into the parking lot. This would present us with another danger, It was not a chance we wanted to take with my 6 year old sister skating with us. So, our group diverted itself to the basketball court.
The court itself was pretty large and composed of 6 large slaps of concrete. I havenâ€™t been there for a while, so I am not sure of itâ€™s exact dimensions, but it was large enough for a full court game. The area was located at the tope of a grass hill. There was about 7 or 8 feet difference in height between the top and bottom of the hill that the court was settled on at the far end of it. The other end of the court was at the same level as the parking lot behind the tennis courts that separated the hill from it. The court was a full court and had two basket ball hoops, one on each end of it. Other than the two poles on the end of the court and the hill at the far side, the court was an ideal skating area.
The six of us rounded the last bend of the sidewalk and began the assent up the hill and onto the court. It was a steep climb and it took a little bit of balance to get up to the top. I was glad to have my hands free for a moment. It would have been a difficult if not impossible with them tied together. Once we reached the top of the hill, Shelly, Brandon and myself started skating immediately. Amber was helping Amy climb to the top. My younger sister was having a difficult time coming up with her skates on. Scott took a seat on the ground next to one of the poles furthest from the end of the court with the hill on it. He took a moment and took off a hip pack he was wearing. It contained a few personal items and the 4 pieces of rope that we had brought with us. A few minutes later all 6 of us were making laps of the outer edge of the basketball court.
This, proved to be a rather difficult undertaking for all of us to do. The court was more than large enough for 3 or even 4 of us to skate at varying paces. However, what we ended up with as a mixed traffic jam running around in a circle. Shelly ended up not being able to stop as she passed Brandon and ended up sending him face forward into the cement. He took out my little sister on the way forward and she ended up on top of him. Luckily, Brandon caught himself on one arm and managed to break Amyâ€™s fall as he went down. Amber and I pulled up along side and helped the two of them up to their feet. Both of them had the wind knocked out of them, but no serious injuries were sustained. Amy began to sob when she hit the ground. She was at that age where anything that caused pain cause tears. â€œOw, that hurt. You should slow down you big jerk. . . . Ect.â€ Amy spit out a statements as the tears flowed from her eyes from the fall.
Amber pulled my little sister aside and tried to comfort her on the matter. She lead Amy over the far end of the court and began to dust her off. â€œSee, your ok. Itâ€™s going to be fine. Look at poor Brandon, youâ€™re the one who fell on top of him. Good thing he is softer than the ground.â€ Amber didnâ€™t have any younger siblings of her own to contend with. However, she babysat quite a bit in the area for pocket money over the last few years. She really had a way with kids especially younger ones. After a few minutes of jests from my friend, Amy began to laugh at the whole of the situation with the rest of us. The tears dried up and a smile returned to her face. Once the episode concluded, the rest of us returned to skating around the court for the next half an hour or so. We slowed the pace down a little and kept a better watch on each other as the time passed.
After 45 minutes or an hour passing, I donâ€™t remember which it was. Amy was getting tired of skating and withdrew herself from the court. She looked like she was getting pretty tired. After all, she had skated all the way down here and kept pretty busy since the arrival. Even with lunch she was reaching her limit. She pulled herself off the end of the court and began pulling her roller skates off of her feet. It was fine since hers were the style that were worn over shoes anyway. Then, she started working her pads and helmet off as well. Amber pulled off to the side again to give my little sister a hand. They talked as my little sister stripped herself of all that gear. She announced that she was tired and done skating for the time being. Amber told her that she was getting a little burnt out two and offered to sit with Amy for a while.
For the next 15 minutes or so, the remainder of our group continued skating around the court. With two less bodies and one of them being my younger sister, we had more room to maneuver and could use a little more speed. Amy sat close to my friend and the two of them watched as we whizzed pass. With more room to work with, Scott and Brandon opened up and did a couple of trick jumps and crouches. They were better trained than I was. Brandon could do a spin called a double axle on roller skate, which he performed several times to our amazement. With all of us trying more daring things, I got an idea of my own. Once Scott lapped me, I slowed down and allowed him to make a full loop before reaching me again. Then I picked up to match his speed. My brother caught the hint from my movements and slowed his pace to match mine.
â€œIs there something that you want sis?â€ Scott asked me as he pulled alongside me taking the outer loop of the two of us. â€œYeah, since were not going to be tripping over Amy any more, do you think you could tie my hands up again for a while?â€ I replied to his inquiry. Scott nodded and lead me the way over to where he had left the hip pack at the base of the pole. The thought of being tied up again had crossed through my mind more than once during this whole expedition. However, after Amy and Brandon took their dive I had dismissed it on the crowded basketball court. Now that the area was a little more clear, I decided that I was willing to give it another try. Scott lead the way and I followed close at his heels. It took less that a minute for us to arrive at the pole that Amy and Amber were sitting next to. It was also the drop point for the hip pack with all the rope in it.
My brother came to a stop and bent over. He opened the pack and retrieved one of the coils of rope from the pack and began to untangle it. Working the rope free took a couple of minutes to separate the ends from each other. Once my brother had a length of rope trailing from his hand he skated back over to where I was standing. Scott brought himself to rest behind where I was standing. â€œOk Jen, hold still please.â€ My brother asked as he took hold of my hands. Scott guided my hands together behind my back and brought them into an x shape. Then he took the loose end of the rope and began to make several horizontal loops around my crossed wrists. Once he finished the horizontal passes, my brother finished off the tie with several vertical passes to snug the tie down. Then he knotted the rope off on top out of the reach of my fingers.
Scott took a step backwards pushing off of me slightly. This caused me to stagger forward a little and almost fall. I managed to catch my balance and restore my ground before I went down though. I gave the ropes a few good solid tugs and they held pretty well. The tie wasnâ€™t as fancy or restrictive as the style that Sean had used earlier. But it held well against my straining and kept my hands out of use. I took a couple of small steps forward acclimating myself to my situation trying to get used to keeping my balance without my hands again. It came pretty easily and after a few short steps I risked a couple of longer strokes. After I reclaimed my ability to keep my balance a little better, I returned to skating with the rest of my friends.
Amy and Amber sat and watched as the four of us did laps of the course. The boys moved at a much quicker pace than Shelly or I did. Shelly wasnâ€™t the best skater of the bunch. I had other reasons that prevented me from moving at top speed. The boys were more than careful to give me the space I needed. I stayed more towards the center of the court while they made wider passes around the outer perimeter. Shelly bobbed in and out as she saw fit. Amy watched us for a time but after a while she seemed to get bored with the whole idea of watching rather than participating. Still, she never was definitely my sister. Since she had her skates off she didnâ€™t want to go to all the hassle of putting all her stuff on again. So she looked for a new means of entertainment. Her eyes circled her head trying to find something fun to do. After a couple of minutes of looking, they came to rest on the hip pack that Scott had left open at the bottom of the post.
Amy stood up and walked over to where Amber was sitting a few feet away. She stood there looking over at my friend for a minute or two. She had one of those looks on her face where she was waiting for Amber to acknowledge her existence. Finally Amber looked up and saw my sister. â€œHi Amy, what do you want?â€ Amy shrugged her shoulder s back and shifted her feet around on the ground. â€œAmber? . . Amber do you think? . . Do you think you could tie me up?â€ Amy asked finally spitting her idea out to my perplexed friend. Amber let the thought mull over in her head a couple of times before it came to reality. She had seen Amy tied up by me and my siblings on several occasions. She had witnessed it earlier in the day. It just took a moment to sink in. â€œWhy do you want me to tie you up Amy?â€ Amber replied trying to draw reason from the blank request. â€œBecause . . . Becauseâ€ Amy let the words hang in the air for a moment or two before drawing an explanation together. â€œBecause Iâ€™m bored. And we have the rope over there.â€ My little sister said pointing at the open fanny pack.
Amber drew the rational together as best she could. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Amy didnâ€™t need a reason other than the materials and the time were available. Amber just shrugged and followed Amy over to where the hip pouch was laying. She dug out the first piece of rope and began the process of unknotting it from the coil. Amy watched her work with anticipation. (Most of this part of the story is second hand to me. We were too busy skating to notice at the time, but we saw the result.) Once Amber had worked the first coil of rope free from its knot Amy turned her back to her and put her hands together. Amber began tying my little sister hands parallel to each other behind her back and knotted them off snuggly. Of all of us, Amber was probably the second worst at tying someone up other than Amy. Still, she did a good enough job to keep my little sisterâ€™s hands secure.
Being tied up was a new experience to Amy and she wasnâ€™t much of an escape artist at the time. I think she like being tied for the same reason I did when I was her age. It was a fun physical experience being restrained. Amy tugged her hands a few times and struggled against them. Amber took a moment and asked her how the ropes were. Amy replied that they were â€œsuper escape proofâ€, and asked Amber if she would tie up her feet too. (Amy always used that phrase as a kid when I tied her up and she couldnâ€™t get out.) Amber set about grabbing a second piece of rope while Amy laid herself down on the ground to struggle. She sat down and fell backwards into a laying position. Then she rolled onto her tummy and watched us while Amber worked the second piece of rope.
Once the second coil of rope was free, Amber came over and began to wrap it around Amyâ€™s ankles. Amber asked my sister why she was lying on her stomach, and she replied that it would be easier to tie her up this way. It took a moment for Amber to get the meaning of what my sister meant by that statement. Amy watched over her shoulder as Amber began wrapping the coil of rope around her ankles. Once she reached a few loops and began to cinch the tie off, Amy abruptly jerked her legs back. I guess it was more of an upwards motion off the ground. She drew them backwards towards her hands. â€œCan you tie me up like this?â€ She asked. Amber caught hold of Amyâ€™s request and set about granting it. She slipped one end of the rope under one of the loops to keep the feet together and then she brought the end down and tied it off on my sisters hands. This drew Amy up into a rather snug little hogtie. Then Amber backed away to let my sister explore the limits of her new confinement.
Amy had seen me and Scott both hogtied on several occasions growing up. She was curious about the position. I explained that it was a way to tie someoneâ€™s feet behind their back like their hands. She had wanted to try it herself to get a feel for the situation. However, my brothers and I decided to put it off until she was a little older. We gave her a number of different excuses and reasons, and she just accepted them for the time being. However, Amber was not keyed into this family secret and Amy had found a way to manipulate the situation to her advantage. Little kids always seem to come up with the best plans about getting their was and Amy was no exception. The remainder of our group made another couple of laps before we caught sight my sister and her perdicament. Our little parade came to an abrupt halt. We pulled up on the end of the court and set our eyes on my little sisterâ€™s antics.
The fact that she had been hogtied never really jumped into any of our minds. We just had stopped seeing that she was bound. Amy began to roll around and squirm on her chest. She was quickly learning just how hard it was to move around when youâ€™re tied up like that. She was pretty flexible for her age and after a little work, she managed to roll over onto her back. Amber had left my sister a good 8 or 10 inches of slack between her limbs. It was more than enough for Amy to roll her way around and back and fourth. After a long of work, my little sister even managed to work herself up into a sitting position with her legs tucked back against her chest. We all gave her a little encouragement as she attempted to sit up. Then we finished with some applause as she managed the feet. My little sister was sitting there looking at us with a real look of pride on her face. Despite the fact that she was no closer to freeing herself.
After a few minutes, the novelty of the situation sorted itself out and we resumed our normal pursuits. We began making laps of the court again and every once in a while we tossed a quick glance over at my sister to see how she was coming in attempting to regain her freedom. It was a loosing battle watching her struggles from afar. Even with Amberâ€™s lack of rope working skill, Amy wasnâ€™t making any real progress. I glanced over at my sister each time I mad a pass of the court. There was something nostalgic about watching her sit there and struggle tied up like that. It brought back memories from when I was around her age and some of the first times that I had been tied up. Her eyes were still fixated with the novelty of the idea. The experience and her memories of it still made it a fresh experience for her each time she was part of one of our games. Part of me wished I was her age again part of me was glad to just watch her enjoying the perdicament.
As I circled the court, my mind wandered between all the tie ups I could remember from over the years. Amy was really coming of age with this strange tradition in our family. She seemed to be fascinated with it as I was. Looking back, I probably should have been paying more attention to what a I was doing and less to watching my little sister. I was quite good as skating with my hands tied behind my back, but it required my full concentration. Dividing my focus was a costly mistake. It hit me almost out of the blue that I was at the end of the basketball court when it happened. I lacked the time to stop at all. Without the use of my hands, I lost my balance and lunged forward at the edge of the court. I was coming straight at the metal pole that the basket was mounted to. At the last second, I shifted my weight to the left bringing my upper body out of alignment to hit it. I heard a loud â€˜dingâ€™ as my right leg struck the pole on the way by. The next thing I remember, I was laying face down. I was several feet from the base of the hill and mostly in shock. Followed by a rather heavy wave of pain.
Well, I am going to conclude this part of the story here. To answer the question I have been asking in my title for the last few weeks, ropes and skates are not a good combination. Looking back on the whole thing, it was a pretty dumb thing to do. Iâ€™ll share the results and the aftermath of this tumble in my next story. I would advise anyone from trying this at home.
Alright, I guess I should make a quick comment and take care of the question that I know are coming. Why did I post this story if I knew it ended this way. I did it for a couple of reasons. First, it was part of my experiences growing up. So, I thought it had just as much right to be shared as the other stories I am going to share. Secondly, it illustrates a good point of how dumb it is to try and skate with your hands tie behind your back. Finally, the real reason for this story is I am getting set up for the next series of stories that I am going to be sharing. I thought this would provide a better context of how my situation came about rather than a paragraph about falling while skating. I like to share the details of my life and this experience has made me wiser for the wear. I wasnâ€™t exactly okay from the fall, but this happened quite a few years ago and I pulled through just fine. To this day, my mom doesnâ€™t know that I was tied up when this happened. Well, I guess she does now.
Jennifer

### Re: Ropes and Skates (Good Combination?) Part 4: Nope

Post by K.C. » Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:41 pm

Great story! As usual, you do a great job of describing the situation, making the reader feel like they're really there. I wish I could write with the same talent as you.