Saturday, August 30, 2014

Dogtown

 Dogtown is the nickname for an area around Santa Monica Ca. where a group of skaters known as the Z boys revolutionized skateboarding in the 1970's. I watched the Z Boys of Dogtown documentary last night on netflix (again, always so slow to come around to movies, this was out in 2001). It was a flash back to my past and I stayed up all night watching skateboard videos. Insomnia.... I have to find something to do.....

I was about 13 when I got my first skateboard, and I practically slept with it. I took that thing everywhere. I bought it from a kid in my school, ironically it was a GB board (Gerry Broome, haha).  As I got better, I stepped up to a blue Bahne board and kept it until my dad sold my car, and as far as I can figure, it got left in the car, I never did find it.  I consumed every page of Skateboarder magazine, and tried all the tricks the Z boys were creating. I was the only girl in a group of skateboard rats and they always showed me respect and encouragement, even though I never got as good as any of them. They even encouraged me to enter a local skate competition and I won third place. I was thrilled! I don't think my mom and dad ever  saw me really ride my board, except maybe out of a restaurant window, where they finished up their dinner and I skated around in the parking lot waiting on them.


 After my Bahne disappeared, I got an Alva. Tony Alva started making these in the '70's and I guess mine is one of the originals, because I would have bought it around then. He is featured in the Z boys film, and so I had to get my board out. I rode it around in the house, you gotta love hard wood floors.

It felt good to be back on my board though. Wobbly, and Gerry keeps saying I am going to crack my head open, but it feels really good. Not ready for pavement yet, I don't want to be getting a hip replacement any time soon. But maybe when I'm more steady, I'll get out on the pavement. I miss the sound a skateboard makes as it scrapes across the pavement, miss that feeling of pushing off and rolling along.....  I don't remember when I stopped riding. There was a day when I thought I would never stop riding. I guess I stopped when I started rock climbing maybe, then had a baby, then worked all the time. Also I lived in areas with steep hills and I'm a flatlander.



Cindy at Handstories blog also inspired me to get out my old lap loom a friend gave me. I started weaving with some wool and some sari silk, then started adding bits of leather and strips of cloth and had a fine old time, just for me. I think it will be a bag when I'm through, a bag for me.



Wesley is home for the weekend with a friend, both vegan, so I am experimenting with vegan baked goods. This was a winner. Cranberry walnut muffins from King Arthur Flour. Just google it, the recipe will pop up. They are moist and tasty and pretty healthy. Why did I ever fear baking without butter, eggs and milk? It's not that bad!

This skateboard thing was like hopping in a time machine and going back to some better days of my youth.
Its fun to revisit that past, I was such a delinquent :)
xo

6 comments:

Dennis Allen said...

Shocking behavior young lady just shocking!

Michèle Hastings said...

So cool that you still have your skateboard! I think I saw that documentary some years back.
Since I am a Yankee I spent my youth on ice skates. I still have them here in NC... no clue when I will ever get to use them again. My family is French Canadian decent. We learned to ice skate as soon as we could walk... but it's not nearly as edgy as skateboarding.

Vicki said...

You go sk8er gurl :)

If you want some recipes, let me know and I'll email you - I've got eight years worth of vegan recipes under my belt...

Shannon said...

ha! I've seen the documentary and I used to skateboard, too. sweeet. Glad you're at a new clearing and clearing the decks physically and mentally for the next what next. Glad you get to rest from crazy. You'll find it or it will find you.

Shannon said...

I meant--ps--the what next thing for you will find you, not more crazy!! writing writing.....

Anonymous said...

Your weaving inspired me to get back to mine, after neglecting it for a couple of weeks.
That was a great flashback, good for you for getting back on the board. I've been having fun flashing back w/my poi balls (fyi-my flashing is much less dangerous than yours!).
Hope it's relieving some of the stress of your summer.