From The Archives:: Jess/Meow of Maine Roller Derby

Meow is what we call her in the derby world, but in her professional world she is Jessica (Jess? I don’t even know because although I do find myself in pieces of the real estate world, our paths don’t cross in that arena. Only in roller derby). Meow is an amazing derby player and also a great team mate. So, I reached out to her for my project.

This photo of her was taken at the former Happy Wheels (RIP). Hopefully one day we will get back to gathering in closed spaces with skates on, or to cheer on our friends in skates. But until then, I will continue to share a few more stories of these cool people I know who are trying to find their way in this new normal that keeps shifting….

Meow’n Em Down getting ready to do what she does during a closed Maine Roller Derby Scrimmage at Happy Wheels a few winters ago…

Name:  Jessica Locke/ Meow

Occupation: Real Estate Appraiser

“ A lot has been challenging since COVID-19, but, probably the hardest part has been finding motivation.  Typically, I'm highly self-motivated, complete daily checklists, etc but I find myself excusing more breaks (Netflix) from whatever I am suppose to be accomplishing.  It's difficult to readjust my focus on what a "productive day" might look like now that I'm utilizing different systems/resources than before. 

A silver lining to this situation is the amount of quality time with my husband, Josh.  Honestly, at the beginning of shelter-in-place I thought we would end up fighting more but we really haven't. With nothing but time to share full and complete thoughts our ability to actually understand each other seems to have grown. Hopefully I didn't just jinx the whole situation. 

I most look forward to being able to travel again. Particularly,  we've had to push back going to see family in New York several times.  It's emotionally taxing not to know when trips like that will be able to happen.”

***

Thanks Meowmeow! Looking forward to seeing you in real time again and hoping that also involves roller skates ❤️

From The Archives:: Melissa, Art Teacher

Frida/Melissa is one of my roller derby pals. As an art teacher and a person I love photographing, I knew I wanted to ask her to be part of this project. I had no photo in mind when I reached out to her WEEKS ago, so she got back to me real quick before I was ready for a post. I found this image that I have love but had my own hesitations in using. Things I notice that make me think ‘oh maybe not for instagram.’ But this project has not only allowed me to hear from people during all the Covid concerns but also got me to loosen up about some of the images I wasn’t super sure about sharing.

So, yes she shared this with me several weeks ago and some things have shifted and school has ended for the year as of this week, it is still relevant and an important part of this project to hear her perspective. Especially since she is currently in quarantine in order to have surgery in the coming days….

Frida Rockit coaching the Maine Roller Deber RIP Tides at Happy Wheels in Portland, Maine.

Name: Melissa Prescott (aka Frida Rockit)

Occupation/Business:  Middle School Visual Art Teacher

1. What is one notable change in your life since Covid19 has changed how we are able to do things?
 I work as a middle school visual art teacher - and my birthday, March 13, was likely the last day I'll teach kids in person this school year. Like all teachers, I'm working hard and doing my best to teach my students remotely.

2. What has been most challenging?
Not being able to teach in person is very challenging, as is not being able to visit with friends and loved ones - but video calls are helping. However, I think the most challenging part for me is the anxiety that comes with knowing that my loved ones who are immunocompromised are likely to have serious health complications if they catch the virus. Thinking that they could be in a hospital, in a life-threatening situation, and I wouldn’t be able to see them is terrifying.   It’s also infuriating to know that people are now more at-risk and will have to continue sheltering in place EVEN LONGER because some people refuse to follow basic CDC safety rules. It’s a disgrace that local law-enforcement agencies, who are are already overwhelmed with domestic violence calls, now have to divert precious resources to answer calls about businesses that are putting people’s lives at risk for profit and politics.  It’s also a disgrace that businesses and employees that have lost their income due to following the rules to keep people safe are still not getting the income support that was promised by our government. 

3. Have you found any silver linings you care to share?
Even though remote learning is challenging, I've been able to connect with and support my students online, and that helps me feel like I’m making a difference. A local arts organization (BAAM - Bethel Area Arts and Music) donated money so we could get free art supplies out to our kids, and it was awesome to share this news with them and see how much this brightened their day. The positive feedback that I’m seeing from students and parents about the work that teachers are doing is uplifting.  It’s also encouraging to see how many people are finally realizing that schools do so much more than teach content. 

Another silver lining is the connections I've been able to have with friends on Zoom. While it’s not the same as seeing each other in person, I’ve been able to talk frequently with many people that I didn’t normally see or talk to very often before the pandemic. It’s so easy to get caught up in the routine of daily life, but in the absence of that, it's very comforting to feel the support of my friends and loved ones from afar.  I'm even more grateful now for the friendships that I've developed and maintained with many people over the years - they have helped keep me afloat when I feel like I might be drowning.

4. Are there any shifts you are hoping to stay in place as we move forward?
I hope everybody remembers how important healthy relationships with people really are, and how critical they are for supporting us when we’re going through hard times. I hope everybody has a better understanding of how critical it is to have social safety nets in place in our country, because anybody can fall on hard times through no fault of their own.  I hope that people have a better understanding of the deadly consequences of science denial, and are more likely to listen to the warnings of doctors and scientists. I also hope that people support their local public schools and teachers with even more energy than before. This is a long road, and we’re not out of the woods yet.

5. What are you most looking forward to being able to do again?
What I’m most looking forward to is being able to see my loved ones face-to-face when it's finally safe for them to stop sheltering in place.

6. Anything else you want to share..?
I also really miss my Maine Roller Derby family, and the supportive routines that I had as part of the MRD organization. I hope that we can find a new normal soon, and return to play when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we’re supporting each other the best we can through the magic of the interwebs, and the foundation of trust and respect that that comes with true roller derby love. 
I also know that I’m very privileged to still have my health, a job with income and health coverage, supportive friends and family, and a safe place to live - I wish the for the same for everyone, and I'll continue to do my part to have a positive impact on my community.

Frida after a roller derby bout at the Portland Expo.

Thank you, Frida/Melissa for sharing your story and for always being so fun, passionate, and enthusiastic about everything. I miss laughing with you over silly stuff while stretching at the end of derby practice. Now heal up and stay healthy!

xo

From The Archives:: Kelley of Wildflours Bakery

Kelley and I met years ago when I was newly gluten-free and trying to find yummy treats and I found myself in her bakery/shop. Then we became roller derby team mates. In times of chaos she is the one you want by your side or in your corner. And I think she has proven that during these ever-changing times brought to us by Covid19. She and her staff have adapted over and over to make sure they keep going and keep their customers safe.

This time has definitely showed us who can and will dig in and find ways to keep going. I admire Kelley for that. That small business owner New England style grit, coupled with a smile and a at times a sparkle in the eye. Which is why I needed to share this photo of her after being sent to the penalty box during a roller derby bout. It fits the times, whether we are dealing with a pandemic or not. Plus, it’s perfectly her.

Kelley Hughes

Owner, Wildflours Gluten-Free Bakery

1. What is one notable change in your life since Covid19 has changed how we are able to do things? Both my husband and I are essential workers. So- juggling work, parenting and homeschooling has been a learning experience, for sure.

2. What has been most challenging? Trying to stay in the here and now. Thinking about the future and all of the “what-ifs”is a slippery slope.

I mean, there is a certain amount of business and life planning I can attempt, but I feel like for right now, I’m better served by a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other approach. 

3. Have you found any silver linings you care to share? Lydia, my 10-year old works with me a few early mornings a week. She’s been really helpful (she’s an expert donut glazer now) and it’s been fun to witness her pride in her work. It’s also created a new and sweet sort of bond between us. 

4. Are there any shifts you are hoping to stay in place as we move forward? I actually appreciate the slower pace, I hope we can hang on to a bit of that.

5. What are you most looking forward to being able to do again? Traveling to friends who live “away”. 

If you are looking for a gluten-free bakery, be sure to check out Wildflours on your next time through Brunswick, Maine! Or drive out of your way like some of us do because we need a tasty treat or a honey corn muffin…

Give Me Your Huggy Smiles

Is it better to share past moments as a reminder or better to share present moments, even if they seem less happy? Is it too hard to see reminders of what you can’t be doing right now?

Maybe. For some. But for others we need the reminders. The smiles. The glimpses of moments that make us feel, that remind, that ground us both in the past and in the present, while looking forward to what may come. Folders and folders of images unshared, blog posts unpublished. And I find myself looking at my work differently these days.

Leaguemates! Maine Roller Derby skaters Slammin’, Wrex, and Ax at Happy Wheels, December 15, 2019.

In December our local roller rink closed. This winter a story was published sharing news of the possibility of another rink to be built. In March the Corona Virus showed up on our shores and everything started to change and shift quickly. Weeks into school closures and stay at homes orders, I find images in my folders needing to be shared. Friends sharing final moments on skates, at a roller rink that no longer is, way before we knew that soon all sports and gatherings of people would also come to a halt.

So, do we share these moments and risk feeling sad? Or do we share and remember and smile? Find a thing to focus on, a thing to get back to…?

I think we share. We keep pushing forward and tell the stories and share the moments but somehow remember and focus on the now at the same time. Because believe me I never thought I would be so badly craving having my camera capture a hug between friends/family/teammates/strangers. I always knew that’s where it was for me, I never thought I would have to know what it feels like to not be chasing down those moments.

So, while I normally gravitate to the photos where people are less camera aware, or are at least not mugging for the camera, I am suddenly wanting more and more of the silly huggy smiles FOR the camera. These shared bits of happiness between people.

So, YES I can’t wait to get back to gatherings of humans for my camera to capture. But I also know some things will be forever changed. And that is somehow ok, even if we don’t know yet what it means.

Last Maine Roller Derby bout at Happy Wheels, 12/15/19. Happy Wheels Skate Center, Portland, Maine.

All images in this post were taken at Happy Wheels Skate Center, Warren Avenue, Portland, Maine on December 15th, 2019 during the final roller derby bout at that facility.

For now, we skate separately on our neighborhood streets and basement floors…. waiting for the days when we can gather in groups and skate our hearts out.

Be safe & don’t forget to hydrate!

xo ~ jb

{Maine Lifestyle Photographer}: Roller Derby Practice

Do you know what kinds of people play roller derby?

All kinds.

All backgrounds. All sizes. All careers. All of it.

So, maybe it takes a certain something in your personality to get you to the point where you walk through that door and sign up to try out, but that one small thing in any of us isn’t enough to say ‘everyone who plays roller derby is ( fill in the blank )…’

Because they aren’t all one same thing. Except human.

‘Roller derby is bad ass!’ people love to say.

Yes, it is. But that doesn’t mean everyone who plays fits into your mold of what bad ass might be. Because social workers and art teachers and writers and cooks and doctors and students and engineers may be sharing the track and the bench at any given time. The loud with the quiet, the assertive with the shy, the hot mess with the super orgnanized. All of it.

Last night after my photo shoot, I met up with a friend for dinner. She had something she wanted to give me. It was a book of roller derby photos she found in Montreal. By a photographer who had also been a skater. So, that was pretty thoughtful and also a pretty perfect thing to gift me.

When I looked at it I felt like some of the photos could have easily been taken of my league, at one of our practice spaces. I looked for my friends in some of the images. It’s possible that thoughtful gift may have influenced this post which I didn’t really think about until I got to the very end of this quick post.

Fun how art and life keep influencing each other….