A pack of youngsters came riding by the coffee house where I was chilling. They rode skateboards and carried daypacks and baseball gloves. Up came the noses of the boards, and they came to an abrupt halt to check out a promising combo of a long cement step, a metal rail, and a nearby wooden bench.
I watched them study the resources with a calculating eye that would do an engineer proud. They all dropped their gear and began choreographed maneuvers, defying gravity and human limitations alike. These kids were fantastic athletes and acrobats.
After a while I was exhausted from watching them perform seemingly impossible feats. About that time, one of them checked his watch, grumbled something, and the group picked up their gear and rode on. I’m guessing they went to ball practice, where parent/coaches ran them through some simple exercises, ball practice, strategy training, then gave them a pep talk about athletics, and sent them on home.
A couple hours later, I was driving past the same spot the kids had skated earlier and found the same pack of youngsters performing feats their coaches possibly had no idea they were capable of. I just had to pull over and watch them again … occasionally shaking my head and grinning as they came crashing down from a failed stunt.
If I fell that hard, I’d never get up. But then, I’m only a kid at heart these days.
I am extremely proud of these kids, and for a good reason. They have taken something — which began when I was their age — to a whole new level of skill and courage.
When I was a lad, just beginning to attain some degree of skill on a surfboard, we didn’t have wetsuits. We just froze and turned fascinating shades of blue. During the cold-water time of year (about a third of the year), it wasn’t safe to spend long periods of time in the surf.
We wanted to practice our moves, and keep in surfing shape, so we snagged boards, tore apart our skates, and mounted the trucks and wheels on the bottoms of our boards. We skated around, practicing the same moves we used on our surfboards. That allowed us to be better surfers.
It wasn’t long before wetsuits became available, which were appropriate for surfing sports. Meanwhile, we had grown attached to our skateboards. About that time, smaller and lighter surfboards became popular, and we were out there, carving faces of big tubular waves.
Suddenly our skateboarding needs changed dramatically. We found ourselves looking for empty swimming pools, half-pipe ramps, and other rideable surfaces, resembling wave faces. Riding skateboards became a sport unto itself during those days of learning what was possible. New designs came out, which helped us push the envelope and ride more creatively.
The story of skateboarding has progressed, in the intervening decades. Please understand that I don’t mind the human aging process. While watching that pack of youngsters however, I found myself wishing I could have stayed that age and just kept on riding the leading/bleeding edge of that sport. You go, dudes!
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
