Skateboarding has come a long way since I first had a go at it way back 30 or so years ago. Yes that makes me a real old fellow in his forties now. Does that make me officially a fossil?
I remember back when we visited a friend’s place and he pulled out this amazing skateboard. It wasn’t amazing because it had super graphics on it; in fact I think it was just a plain brownie colored board from memory. However it was amazing just because he had one. Unlike today when it seems as though every young whipper snapper has his or her own board.
Anyhow, our friend gave us a quick demo of how it worked on a bit of concrete driveway in his yard. After about 10 minutes or so we quickly discovered we were experts at the craft of skateboarding and wanted somewhere more challenging to ride.
So up the road we went to the next corner and there it was – skateboard paradise. Or as the adults saw it, a big hill with a concrete footpath. At the bottom of the hill there was even a huge sand pile we reasoned that if in the rare event we crashed we would have the perfect landing place.
Excited beyond words off up the hill we went arguing who was going to go first as all well mannered children do and of course the owner of the skateboard won out which seemed only fair but I got second pick.
Off went our friend down the hill handling that skateboard like a true professional. This skateboarding looked so easy I couldn’t wait for my turn that came soon enough. Read more...
