SKATE RAT
No skatepark here in Ann Arbor so the Kidd and I jumped outta bed at sunrise and hit the road on a skatepark mission. We drove over an hour north to sample the Mason skatepark: outdoor, concrete, free. It was amazing; 3 concrete bowls, countless hips, channels and transfers, but unlike the photos on the web there was now a fence around it. Why a free public park with no posted rules would have a locked gate, I don't know. It's torture. Do they lock up the playground or the swing sets? We jumped the fence at 8:30 and were shredding until 8:45 when the cruiser pulled up. That was that. Some lady across the street 'who likes to keep an eye on the park' ratted on us. She must love peaking through her curtains watching the skaters get a talking to. We maintained our innocence and the cop even empathized with us saying "I know how it feels, I fish and I'm waiting for the season to start too." The skatepark wouldn't be 'officially open' for another week or two. So while the snow has thawed and the temperature rises, the skaters all have to wait for some town councilor to give the nod on opening the gate. And it hardly even snowed this year, the locals coulda been skateboarding all winter. The same thing is happening in Uxbridge: they build a public skatepark then keep it closed half the time, so when the kids sneak in to use it the town threatens to shut it down.
posted by benny_z at 11:37 AM
1 Comments:
You guys ruled at the AAFF and you put the B.I.K.E. video boys (Black Label) to shame with your video AND with your bikes! - so much more creative. They talked about creativity but you guys ARE it and you're doing it and you're committed to community development. I think they just really want to be a motorcycle gang (judging by that jetbike at the end and the issues around their colors on their biker jackets). A bunch of us were impressed with you yesterday. Maybe you've had more privelege growing up in Uxbridge and not the jungle of NY, maybe it's being Canadian, the comparison doesn't really matter. For you guys, "colors" are REALLY c-o-l-o-u-r-s, the whole rainbow spectrum of them, and I like how that opens things up for everyone; it's inspirational. (Hey, just go easy on the slight after-school special tone). Kudos!
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