DS TimeCrapsule #16a - Extreme Sports, Brah
via: http://web.archive.org/web/20020603131414/http://thegodfader.com/derelict/main.htm
05/11/02 ~ by Dean Satan ~
You know if thereās one thing thatāll wake you up real quick itās taking an early morning "spill", heading to the store on the old skateboard. High speed, I make a b-line directly for a fresh patch of asphalt knowing itās smooth. Bad part is, itās not packed or tampened hard, not at all a solid surface, not at all. Like mud in sand, the skateboard sticks like glue. Me meanwhile, go flying superman-style like Iām sliding into home. I continue down the street rolling a bit, maybe two or three times. Itās cool. Itās far better to "roll it out" than land hard once.
"Are you okay?" says a lady across the street. Sheās talking to a guy by a Public Works truck.
"Son of a bitch⦠you fuckinā piece uh shit!ā¦. Arrrgh", I say. "Iām cool, thereās a fresh patch of road for me." The kids in front of the store are howling laughing. I lay in the street for a few extra seconds for dramatic effect. I get up and scan for leakage and degree of bodily damage. It donāt hurt.
So, Iām bleeding from my elbow, knee, and wrist. My neck is starting to hurt. I pick up my skate and fling it earthbound, back into the square of oily gravel.
"Well thatāll happen to ya sometimes. What were you doing, practicing a trick?" chimes in the guy by the truck.
I wish I had a story about how it was all related and really it is. But what am I going to do? That fat-ass dude probably just filled it that hole. I know everyone else that saw it was entertained, judged on the applause alone. Plus, my wrist is starting to hurt. I hope Iāll be able to roll cigamarettes.
So, the point is fuck all this new interest in "Extreme Sports". Iāve been riding a skateboard since Bones, and Natas and Gator and FfeJ and Gonzo and Oscar. Busting tricks and picking scabs. Stealing wood to make ramps that get torn down in the span of a week ten times over. Since, Fat Larry GoSkate, back in the day. To put that into perspective, 1980⦠before even as a wee toehead. Iāve been busting my ass, hurting my self while "playing" from the get go. So now thereās this fascination for dangers sports by the mainstream. Why is it that all the stuff I like ends up being cool? Watching someone else bust their shit doesnāt do anything for the viewer except give āem something to talk about. Being true to the medium of television, its truly not interaction and brings new meaning (to me) to the phrase No Pain No Gain. Unless you actually do it, you arenāt getting anything out of it. Life is not a spectator sport. And in the words of the Surf Punks, "Locals Only" ⦠oh and "ā¦Look out for the dummies thereās a million and more, theyāll rip off your spot, they think theyāre hot. If you see a dummy, send him back where he came, the land of the low-lifeās, the land of the lame."⦠but I digress. If someoneās gonna market your lifestyle at least you should get a few bucks.
You should be inspired to try to do something adventurous. Pinch yourself or have a friend punch you in the arm. Do something dangerous, learn a lesson. Knife throwing for fun and profit. Slap your friend in the back of the neck. He may stand up and punch you in the gut or he may do nothing. Either way it was an experiment wasnāt it? Send all research data to a local university, maybe youāll get a grant. To cut to the chase, pain makes you know straight away that youāre alive. Not really a big revelation but when it was said that "As I bleed I feel alive", it is very life affirming. We are only really talking about cuts and scrapes bruises and sprains⦠nothing too serious. In this case getting the sensation of zero Gās for split-second followed by the awkward jarring and subsequent pang from misreading the signals. The next time I know I should know the surface on which I am entering. Pretty good lesson. I learned folks like to laugh. Itās only a lot cooler if itās someone else theyāre doing it at. Arm-chair quarterbacks and critics are bad right? Forget the fact that Iām a stinking critic my own sports-hating self. You gotta bust a few eggs if you're gonna make a Kraft singles omelet.
So get out there and run around crazy, blindfold optional. Thatās about all Iām saying Iām not gonna be the only one nursing my wounds. Self-destructiveās unite! (Act responsibly)