Getting Old

Now that I'm a property owner, my perspective has shifted. A young guy who lives across the street likes to skateboard in front of my house on the sidewalk and road, and this can prove distracting when I'm trying to work, but would rather be doing something perhaps more fun, like skateboarding in front of the house.

I've been in a bit of a mood lately, contemplating mid-life, my new situation as a home owner, grad student, and the sunburn I got on the top of my head from an unnoticed (until now) bald spot. When I came home the other day, Drew (let us call him), my skateboarding neighbour, was applying candle wax to the curb on the corner of the lot upon which my house sits. Because we're on a slight hill, this curb is the best one for skating at our particular intersection, but the problem is, the wax build-up on the curb makes it quite slippery, and I have become worried that, were someone to fall on account of loosing their footing, I would be liable.

So I approached Drew and asked him not to put wax on the curb. He and I have skated together before, and, earlier this spring, I helped him soundproof a wooden box that he has built for skateboarding. He likes to place the box on the same curb in front of my house, which is the most opportune place for such an obstacle. It has a metal bar attached to one side for grinding, but it was a hollow box and made a lot of noise until I helped him fill it with insulation. Drew is a respectful fellow and listened to my concerns about pedestrians slipping, but I still felt like the old man shutting down his fun. Perhaps I was being overly cautious with my concerns, or maybe I was giving vent to a repressed desire to skate the curb myself.

But I asked what had happened to his grinder-box, and he said it had gotten rusty from all the rain we've been having lately. Nevertheless, he hauled it up the hill from his backyard and installed it on the curb. It had indeed gotten rusty, but the application of a thick layer of candle wax brought it back to life, and soon he was grinding away. I decided that I had read enough Judith Butler for one night. I put on my skate shoes, brushed my teeth (I always brush my teeth before skateboarding, as a kind of good luck charm), and did some skateboarding with Drew.

The newly-waxed box was very slippery, and I took a bit of a fall the first time I tried it. Drew said, "That was such a slow-motion fall!". Because of my time-slowing powers, I didn't hurt myself at all. It actually felt really good to skate again after so long of a hiatus. The muggy air was causing a lot of sweat, even though it was cloudy and not so hot. After busting a few of my signature moves (360 shove-its, no-comply to shifty, airwalks and "slap maxwell" grinds that nobody seems to do any more) I started to feel less like an old grouchy man and more like my normal self.

Before he went in for the night, Drew told me about a new secret skate spot, through a hole in a fence, behind a factory not so far from where I live. I'm going to have to check that one out sometime in the near future.