I have no idea about the world of skateboarding. I have vague childhood memories of kids with feathered hair and K-mart boards with red roller skates wheels. The first time I saw a half pipe, I was super impressed, I must have been 5 or 6 years old. Later, in high school, my younger brother picked up the sport, and his scab collection was impressive indeed, not to mention one or 2 broken bones. Some guys I knew, watched Tony Hawk videos and groaned a lot when skaters took a face plant on the sidewalk. Like it's funny to get kicked in the groin.
Then some people got mad about the destruction of public property and pestered city officials to "deter" skateboarding and build skate parks. Architects took Anti-Skate Detailing 101 to graduate. The benches are splinter-less, yes, and I don't see skaters anymore. Where did they go?
Despite clearly being an outsider, I still enjoy that long "wheely" sound which comes down our street every once in a while. Skaters probably favor it for it's nice long, slightly inclined downhill slope. When the weather's nice, a bunch of skaters gather across the street at Akwell's and film some maneuver on a ledge over and over again. Other skaters stand around and watch. It's a favorite spot. It's like it's the only off-skate park ledge left in town, and the word got around. They come often on warm nights. Seeing them again yesterday felt like the good weather was going to stay.
Skateboarding is a really cool thing that I regret never having learned as a kid. I'm sure some people get annoyed by them, but when you think about it, it's a really sustainable mode of transport. I'm sure the skaters would recoil to hear a middle aged woman call them hippies :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there's a beginner's club, something called "Skate Mamas" or "Oldies Boarding". Apparently, there's 8 parks in Vancouver including one in Kensington Park, but I think I'm just going to stick to my bike :)
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