Sarah Escobar has been my niece-in-law for 15 years, but I had my first meaningful conversation with her just last week.

About roller derby.

I was working on the story about Columbia Basin Roller Derby when my wife Pat told me Sarah was a roller derby girl.

I was shocked. Quiet, wouldn't-hurt-a-flea Sarah?

"Yes," Pat said emphatically. "Your niece Sarah, your nephew Jamie's wife. She plays for some team in Spokane."

I could not believe it. So I had to call Sarah. And that set off other shock waves.

Sarah was at work when I called, and she couldn't answer the phone. But seeing my name pop up on her phone for the first time ever made her wonder what was wrong. She even gave a very cautious "hello?" when we connected a few minutes later.

Sarah had recently had a day in which her grandfather had suffered a stroke, her little niece had stepped on a needle and required surgery and her young daughter found the family cat dead after being run over by a car. So, naturally, she wondered what was next when I called.

Sarah was relieved, but, I think, somewhat dumbfounded, when I said I was calling about roller derby. We have never talked about anything - ever. Our conversations have been "Hi Uncle Ted" and "Hi Sarah" at family gatherings.

This call was magnificent. Sarah and I had fun even though it was only about roller derby. She admitted that sometimes that quiet veneer masks pent-up rage. That day her grandfather had the stroke was a bad day.

"At practice that night, after I hit a few people, I felt better," she said.

She made me laugh.

"My job on the team is to hit people and knock them off the track," she said. "The hitting is the most fun."

She made me laugh.

"Rugby is not rough enough. So we put wheels on our feet," she said.

She made me laugh.

"It's like football for the guys, but they can't do it on skates, and we don't take breaks," she said.

She made me laugh again.

Sarah, 36, skated a lot as a girl, but she didn't know where to go with her skating after growing up. So she settled into being a really good mom. Then last January her brother-in-law Gabe suggested roller derby.

Sarah tried out for Spokanibals and made the team. She recently left Spokanibals to join a brand-new team called Inland Empower. The girls will practice three hours a night, two nights a week until their first real action in April. That's dedication.

I could tell by the way Sarah opened up that she is really happy in her Roller Derby world. Her daughters "love" watching her compete, and her No. 1 fan is Jamie.

"He takes care of my skates," she said. "These are expensive skates. They cost about $300. Whatever they need, he does it."

Like I do with all interviews, I closed off the call by thanking my niece for talking to me. I thought about that and felt sort of funny.

Then Sarah made me laugh again.

"You can call me more often, Uncle Ted," she said. "Next time I won't panic."