At Camden's sole rink, the good times roll

The Honey Rollers were lacing up. So was Mr. Wiggles. Sweet Ashley was taking warm-up laps while an old head named Major Mitchell showed off a dizzyingly fast spin.

The speakers began to thump DJ Ed's R&B selections. The Wildman, famous for his trick skating, was in the house. The usual crowd of about 400 was filing through the rails.

It was adult skating night at Millennium Skate World, Camden's only roller rink.

Every Wednesday evening, hundreds of dedicated amateur-style skaters from New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware pack this large indoor rink, in a clearing of tall weeds off Route 30.

They come for a skating party, for the scene, and for the friendship, they said.

Most important, they come to let loose on eight wheels: to bop and bounce, spin and groove, perform tricks, show off fancy footwork, and skate backward at speeds so fast that the whoosh blows your hair back.

Some are as young as 18; others are in their 60s. They are students and retirees, stay-at-home moms and maintenance men, bus drivers and factory workers.

"It's what we do," said Anthony "Lyfe" Walker, a 29-year-old music producer, originally from Camden, who makes the nearly two-hour trek from Delaware. "It's our release."

Capri Hill, 21, of Camden, a nutrition worker at Cooper University Hospital, was wearing her white "Honey Rollers" jacket with the sexy skating bumble bee emblazoned on the back.

"When I wake up on Wednesday mornings, I just need to skate," she shouted over the music, her arms locked with fellow Honey Roller Nicole Stanton, 23, of Philadelphia. "It's better than drinking. . . . It's expression. It's exercise. It's art."

"It's an addiction," added Tim Rodriguez, a 23-year-old musician who lives in Camden, before heading onto the floor. "A really fun addiction."

Millennium opened in 2000, said general manager Tracy Medley-Akines, a gracious woman with funky red highlights. It sits on formerly vacant land near the McGuire Gardens housing project.

By 2000, Camden had been without a skating rink for more than a decade, ever since Skateland and Garden Skate closed.

Medley-Akines, 40, of Sicklerville, grew up skating in South Jersey rinks and wanted a clean place with no smoking or drinking.

Millennium's skating floor is large and well-lit. Miss Netta patrols it, constantly blowing her whistle.

In the daytime, there are summer-camp sessions and birthday parties, and Miss Pat offers classes. Friday nights feature gospel music. There is rarely trouble.

"Once in a blue moon we get a fistfight. Whoever starts it is out - no questions asked," said Dayna Weel, a private security officer who works adult nights.

"Coming to the Millennium is like leaving your car unlocked at night and knowing no one is going to mess with it," Walker said.

The adult-night core is a tight-knit group that travels to annual skating parties in North Carolina and Atlanta.

On Saturday night, Millennium planned to host its own national skate party, with 600 skaters expected from all over the East Coast, and even some from Michigan and Ohio.

"We're like one big family," said Lamar Briddell, 27, of South Philadelphia, who works security for the Philadelphia Eagles. "One big skating family."

That family lost someone special this year. Anthony "Tex" Smith, a 48-year-old Ikea forklift operator from North Philadelphia, was the best skater around, everyone agreed.

"An originator," said Morris Armstrong, 48, of Philadelphia, a Greyhound bus driver, nodding in respect.

"He was our Michael Jackson," Medley-Akines said.

Smith died of cancer in May. Medley-Akines spoke at his funeral and asked all the skaters in the packed church to stand up. Just about every pew rose, she said.

They buried Tex with his skates on.

The skaters' close relationships are fostered at the adult nights.

DJ Ed Chalmus, 50, of Camden, who spun records at Skateland in the '70s, establishes the night's rhythm.

First, a slow set.

Nathan Miller, 45, an Atlantic City paramedic, skated with his arm wrapped around a comely woman.

"Don't fall," he told himself.

Tieneshia Grier, 23, a member of the Philly Divaz skate club, brushed off an admirer during Chris Brown's "Young Love."

"Uh-uh - I'm cool," she said, waving a hand with attitude.

It was something to watch Ashley "The Butterfly" Johnson, 22, of Camden, skate her slow, tantalizing loops. And it was something else entirely to see Steve "Mr. Wiggles" Greene, a 47-year-old Philadelphia police officer, do his wiggle dance.

Soon, everyone lined up for some of Medley-Akines' free water ice, and there was a birthday cake for a skater's 21st birthday.

Then there was a fast set.

Lester "Sharky" Powell and the "Crash Boyz" skated backward loops at lightning speed, while Malana Battle, 18, of Philadelphia, and her friends rolled in laughter after their "skate train" collapsed.

Lyndon "Sweet Fats" Cayles, 45, of Trenton, skated until the sweat soaked his shirt, and worries connected to his teenage daughter's decision to join the military disappeared for a while.

And Rasha "The Wildman" Jefferson, 35, of North Philadelphia, wore a sweat rag around his neck as if it were an ascot and jumped over the boards at full speed. During Junior Walker's "Shotgun," he glided low across the floor, enjoying the pleasure of feeling for a moment as if he were in a car drifting on ice.

He had spent the entire day detailing cars in the hot sun. He arrived sore and tired, he said.

"I'm still sore and tired," he said. "But now I'm happy."