Roller Skates

All the kids in my neighborhood had roller skates. Today's kids would die laughing if they were told they had to use these skates. They were so simple. There were 4 metal wheels under a metal platform. This platform was as wide as a shoe and could be adjusted to the length of the shoe. These skates were made to last forever, then hand down to your little brother or sister. On the back of the platform was a curved metal backing that fit the back of the shoe. A leather strap threaded through the back plate and buckled around the ankle. There were two clamps at the front of the platform that clamped around the soles of the shoe. Then there was the most important part of the skate - the skate key. This key was used to lock in the adjustment on the length of the skate and to move the clamps inward to trap the sole of the shoe and lock it.
Those skates were golden (they were really silver metal) in the summer. A bunch of kids would strap those skates on, put the skate key on a string (or ribbon if your mom had any available and you were a girl - shoe strings worked, too.) that dangled from their neck, and take off as fast as they could down the street. Laughing and yelling with the enthusiasm that only happy kids can generate.
I can't tell you how many pairs of cheap sneakers I burned through on a summer with those skate clamps. The soles would be ripped right off the shoes. I would go home and show my mom the shoes. She would let me know how unhappy she was that I ruined another pair of shoes then get the glue out. She'd glue the sole to the shoe. That lasted maybe a couple of days. I got used to the slap noise that the front of my sole made on the sidewalk. We never ran to the store to buy new shoes unless it was an emergency and play shoes did not constitute an emergency. I could go barefoot!
Once in a while disaster would strike while skating. If the clamps weren't locked tight on the shoe, the shoe would slip off the platform. Not good. The rolling would end in a 5 point landing, depending on how fast you were going when the shoe hit the pavement without wheels under it.
Knees, hands then chin would hit cement - possibly nose if you really had some speed going. You'd lay there in shock while your skating posse passed by. Then the pain would hit! Your friends would all stop and try to help you up, but they were on wheels and not very stable. You picked yourself up and skate/hobbled home, howling all the way.
Fortunately the accidents were few and far between. The freedom of rolling down the street with friends outweighed the scrapes and bruises that were inevitable with any outside activity.