were geared toward the adult side of the house, like the fights on Sunday night, replete with the Gillette theme song. But I do remember seeing occasional glimpses of what passed
for professional wrestling back then. It wasn't the same stuff your see today. We had Gorgeous George, who was this big guy with lots of curly blonde hair and he was extremely campy, even though no one had heard that
particular term when George reigned supreme in the ringBut I never cared too much for the wrestling matches and only caught little glimpses of it when changing the channel. What I really liked was Roller Derby,
female style.
Roller Derby was wrestling on wheels and since I liked to roller skate, I loved watching these women roll around the track, elbowing each other out of the way. There was a lot of wrestling's fake drama
in the sport and I particularly recall one skater who was known as "The Blonde Bomber". She was a tough blonde who took no guff off the other skaters, including my favorite, a redheaded woman named Ann.
I don't
remember Ann's last name or nickname, but she had the right color hair, so I was taken with her and her kind of bowlish looking haircut. Ann looked a little older than the other women to me, but she was a tough tootsie,
giving out just as good as she got. My very favorite move was when the team members would all hold hands and form a rolling human barricade and the other team would sort of slingshot one of their own into the line to
try and break it and roll through. High drama could be seen everyday on that track.
From what I've read, Roller Derby's back, only they're on roller blades now and it's a lot more theatrical, more like wrestling. I
probably won't watch it, though, since I don't care for the wrestling that's all the rage among youngsters.
I don't let my son watch it, either, although he'd love to. He already manages to find ways to get into
enough trouble without extra help from the pros. But he picks up stuff from some of his friends and occasionally fills me in to what's happening in the wrestling world.
The other day, we were discussing wrestling and
I told him while I was in high school I dated a fellow who wrestled. I only went to one wrestling match, though. As a sport, it just wasn't my cup of tea and there's just something about a guy in a leotard that doesn't
do much for me.
Anyway, somehow my son misinterpreted that remark and one day we had the following conversation:
Him: Mom, tell me about how you used to wrestle.
Me: What?
Him:You know, how you used to be
on the wrestling team when you were in high school.
Me: No son. You've got it wrong. I was NOT on the wrestling team in high school.
Him: (After a thoughtful pause) What wrestling team were you on?
No matter how
much I've tried to make my son understand his mother is not and never has been a wrestler, he seems not to understand. I think he likes his version -- Mom jumping off the ropes to pound some big brute in the ring. And
my spouse thinks it's funny and eggs him on, hence his new nickname for me: Just call me "Stone Cold Carole Moore."
