At the age of 60, Rene Forestal wants to return to rollerblading.
It’s been more than 40 years since he put on a pair of skates. The Halifax resident believes that returning to the activity will be a fun way to exercise.
She bought new skates and trained for a week, but they didn’t feel well. They didn’t feel like the ones she had as a teenager.
She started looking for online sites for ads for something similar to her vintage boots.
Renee Forestal saw an online ad for a used pair of roller skates that looked like the ones he had as a teenager. To her surprise, she learned that these were the skates she owned 40 years ago. (George Sadie / CBC)
A Dartmouth man had just posted an identical pair for $ 40. No size was mentioned, the skates had no connections and were quite dirty, Forestal said.
But there’s something about these skates, she thought, and decided to take a chance. A few days later she went to the seller’s house to try them.
“It was like a Cinderella and a slipper moment,” she said. “It was like a perfect match. I couldn’t believe it.”
What happened next was even harder to believe. As Forrest tied the skates, she turned the tongue of one of the boots and saw her name written inside.
I thought, “Who !? How? ”And then I said,“ It’s me! These are mine! ”
Forrest wrote her name in the language of one of the skates when she was younger. (George Sadie / CBC)
Forrestal was overwhelmed.
“The shock subsided and I felt tears in my eyes,” she said. “I think it’s because I suddenly went back to my youth – it’s as if life shone before my eyes.”
She remembers selling roller skates when she was a student at NSCAD.
Experience has made her realize that you are never too old to return to something you love, she said.
Forrest watched online instructional videos to improve and even found groups for adults to skate.
“I think the oldest woman I saw was 90 years old.
That means he has plenty of time to train, she said.
The salesman had the feeling
After answering the post, Forrestal was worried because he could not get to the seller’s house for several days. She thought someone else could get the first one.
Seller James Bond is moving and selling a lot of things online.
He had no plans to keep objects for anyone. He was not interested in online money transfers.
However, when it came to these roller skates, Bond said he had a feeling for the woman asking about them.
“There was something about her messages that stood out to me,” Bond said. He said he had many requests to keep items, but that was the only time he agreed.
“It was just a weird feeling I had,” he said.
James Bond says it “raised his mind” to watch Forrest realize he was buying skates he first owned 40 years ago. (Dylan Jones / CBC)
Watching Forrestal realize he’s wearing his old skates is something Bond will never forget, he said.
“It was a really great moment,” he said. “It really filled my heart with a lot of joy, to be honest.”
Bond said it was funny to hear Forrestal say she felt like Cinderella wearing a glass slipper because he and his girlfriend were joking about how this story would make a good Disney movie.
They both believe that there is something magical about their meeting.
Forrestal says the time of Bond’s publication and her search for a retro pair of roller skates was “crazy.” (George Sadie / CBC)
“I like to think there are no matches,” Bond said.
Forrestal agrees. She still can’t figure out how well it turned out. She rediscovered her desire to skate, saw the ad online and had a feel for these dirty skates.
The weather was perfect.
“Everything culminates in this little moment in time,” she said. “Things happen for a reason.”
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