motherbumpertown

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During one summer in the nineties, I shared a duplex with a group of friends. We all had regular retailish jobs, most of us on break from school and we all loved to party (hard). Weekends started on Thursday and ended on Tuesday. It was a fun time to be twenty-one.

All the guys who lived there (we had rented out both sides of the house) were involved in skateboarding to one degree to another. One of my closet buddies was an engineering student who was working in a lumber yard. He was always happy to help build half-pipes with the younger kids that dropped by the local skate shop. Nothing makes a half-pipe more dangerous than bad math and crappy materials.

By association, most of the girls who lived in the house knew endless facts about the sport.

We watched all the same pro videos, knew the terms, the pro names, and much of the surrounding culture. Each of us were adamant that none of us were a typical (and in our opinion lame) betty.

We spent more than a far share of time trying to perfect dropping-in, hurting ourselves trying tricks, and scouting out cool (and usually forbidden) trick locations for the more hard-core skaters.

Personally I sucked and was very far from cool by any stretch of the imagination but that didn't matter, I wasn't scared and that earned me a little bit of respect. Honestly, the only reason I tried 99% of this stuff was just to find out what was the allure. Some of my friends lived and dreamed by the board. Some were strict vegans, only drank on occasion, worked long hours for that great trick, planned heavily for that "out of bounds" location, and lived by a very disciplined code.

Of course it's been years since I have even seen a board up close. Are decks still wide? Vans still acceptable? Regardless, it fascinates me and I still stop to watch whenever I flip past something on the sport.

Watching, it's like a small travel back in time, to that absolutely complicated and f'd up time that now appears so simple.

I know the sport has evolved and is now more acceptable and widespread. As with anything, it's pushing the limits with these extreme demos and competitions. So when SB showed me this clip the other day, I had one of the fast little flashbacks - but this one was cut short by a "OMG THAT HAD TO HURT" moment.

It is freakishly amazing watching the slow-mo's in this clip and what happened to his shoes.


Anyhow, back when I lived with that group the times were amazingly fun, tough, and extreme in many different ways.

If the stories were uniquely mine, I'd be more apt to share, but so many folks were involved that I would have to choose what to tell very carefully. I have to respect those who cannot grant me permission.

Those times ended stained and bad a few years later, some my fault, some other peoples contributions but it doesn't matter now. We all busted apart around the seams and very few still remain friends.

I remember mostly good times and forget most of the hard times. And another thing for certain is that I am always grateful that I've lived a very full and colourful life.