Skating, Dancing, Sexing

Skating is a big part of ATL. It's a pastime, a lifeline, and an art form. For Rashad it's a way to relax, a way to be himself, and a way to show off. Skating reveals a lot about Rashad, as it does about his friends, and about all the other people who frequent the Cascade rink on Sunday nights. The skating in this movie reminds me of dancing in real life.

I've often thought that how a man dances is a glimpse at how he makes love.

Now, I don't mean Michael Jackson moon walking and kicking up his leg. I mean moving to a rhythm, in sync with a partner, present in the moment.

Maybe the salsa music and dancing in my childhood is to blame for this notion. Maybe my own special mania is. Whatever the reason, I've always thought that a man who knows how to move on the dance floor also knows how to move in the bed.

Think about it.

Picture it.

Is he engaged with his partner? Or might he as well be alone? Is he controlled, or frenzied? Is he smooth on the rink? On the dance floor? In the bedroom?

The first time I watched New New tell Teddy that she's seen him skate and that tells her "everything [she needs] to know about a man," I nearly shouted, "Exactly!"

Poor, Teddy. He doesn't understand. He goes on to explain that he is "the quickest one out there... [he] be pumpin' it out there." Again, New New and I are in sync when she says, dismissively, "Exactly. A quick pumper."

I know what you're thinking. "Skating is not dancing." You're right; it's not. And dancing is not lovemaking. But all of these activities require moves and style.

Do you know what you like? You have to know what you like to get what you like. Or like New New, you have to know what you don't like to avoid disappointment.

Living with a Passion

As I said before, Rashad and his friends have worries. They are on the verge of adulthood, and already they are dealing with younger siblings, menial jobs, and an uncertain future. And of course, there are relationship problems, between them and with others (girls, mentors, family). Their one release, and the one passion they share, is skating at Cascade on Sunday nights.

Cascade is a skating rink of a style not very far past that nevertheless many consider bygone. On Sunday nights, it's the place for the teenagers of ATL to be. As Rashad himself shares in an innocent voice over, inside Cascade, "it's like all our problems don't exist. Only place where we all felt like we could be free... School sucks. Rent past due. Your girl left you. On Sunday night, none of that count. You could be whoever you wanted to be."

Skating is their passion. Cascade is the place to be. Especially for Rashad, who explains that even when the rink is full to bursting on Sunday nights, sometimes he feels "like I was out there all by myself floating above it all. No lies. No pain. And no worries about what tomorrow might bring."

That's exactly what a passion should do for you: make you feel like you're all by yourself, floating above all your worries.

What's your passion? I know you have one. Everyone does. It's the thing you're always thinking about, always want to be doing. When you're engaged in it, the whole rest of the world fades away, and the hours pass swiftly. It may be knitting blankets for patients at a children's hospital, or planting in your victory garden. It could be reading all of Jane Austen's works, or restoring vintage muscle cars. What is it?

Have you made time for your passion lately? Are you living it, or putting it off? Daydreaming about it, or acting on it? (If you're not living your passion, maybe a five-week plan will help you make time for it.)

I'm not going to waste time telling you that life is short, and you can sleep when you're dead. I'm only going to say, live your passion. Make time to engage in it. And in those minutes, let all your cares fall away.

A lot of things in life are complicated. But this little lesson is not. Do what you must and what you are passionate about. That way, you'll be a happier you.