Insulting Injury…to its face!

                      

I believe my injury is severe bruising of the UCL. 

This weekend included multiple sessions and I would have normally blogged about each. However, Friday nights session included two falls which left my wrist and hip badly scraped and bruised. The committed boardrider that I am, these discomforts didn’t keep me from heading back to the garage Sunday afternoon for a couple hours of solo skating. Session in the books, heading to my car, I hit a stupid yellow pole with my front-left-wheel and was violently thrown to the ground.  

I’m getting ahead of myself, let me rewind to Friday night and go through all the events that have left me in this sad state.  

Rod called to say that he and his dad, Troy, were heading to the garage Friday night to skate.  I was really wanting to go with them because Troy is a salty old skater from the 70’s who was an early influence originally pushing Rod, myself and the rest of our crew to begin to skate.  I had seen Troy a few weeks ago and he mentioned that he wanted to check out the garage and get back into skating himself-Troy’s a great guy, I can imagine him back in the day skating some G&S toothpick pretending to be Tony Alva.  

I called Bill who also said he would be there Friday night and my mind was made up, I had to figure out a way to get there.  The problem was that I worked until after 9pm and was supposed to pick up Veronica at mom’s afterward.  Mom would normally have no problem watching her a couple extra hours, however getting over the “hand, foot, mouth,” virus, Veronica has been more of a handful than usual. Still I decided to ask mom if she could watch her a bit.  ”Oh Matt she’s been soooo fussy tonight, and then I have her in the morning.  I don’t know if I can do it.”  ”She could just stay the night,” I replied. “So you can skateboard?” Mom is still figuring out how serious I am about skating, can you imagine that she doesn’t always think it’s a good reason for her to watch extend Veronica’s visit!  Still she relented and I had a couple of hours to go to the garage.

Racing from work, Tool screeching from the speakers, my pre-skate ritual had begun.  Jumping around, singing into mirrors or banging my head to the loudest music I can find, my ritual is very informal. Once complete, I feel juiced as a bucking bull ready to bust from the shoot complete with back sweat and spray coming out of my nose.  Nothing, at that point, can keep me from getting on my board.  

Exiting from Broadway, Bill called with unsettling news.  ”Rod fell and busted his head open. Him and Troy are gone, and its kinda killed the vibe,”  Bill was ready to leave too!  ”That’s why you and I wear helmet’s and I’m practically here, wait for me.”  Bill relented, turns out he was a little dehydrated and a promise to bring water kept him around for a few more runs.

Stepping off the elevator, Bill was waiting for water.  He gave me a brief synopsis of Rod’s fall and I made a silent promise to myself to not let the pavement ruin my night.  Only one thing left to do…RIDE! 

I was really owning it Friday.  I had a breakthrough Wednesday in the neighborhood and some old surfing techniques were coming back to me.  I finally remembered that you have to steer with your rear foot and to push my legs forward when turning backside.  I had also read a great quote from Laird Hamilton about lessons learned from surfing that I was able to apply to my longboarding.  

“You can’t kind of catch a wave. You either catch it or you don’t. It’s a commitment.  That’s just like anything else-you either go or you don’t. He who hesitates is lost in the end.”  USA Weekend, July 4-6, 2008  

That advice is great for anyone trying to get better on a board.  You have to go for it!  If you’re worried about getting hurt you will hesitate and hold something back.  Unlike surfing, holding back may not instantly cause you to eat shit, but it will keep you from breaking through to new heights.  When I ride, I push the limit and go for broke, I try to commit and leave it all on the, figurative, pavement. 

Eventually Amanda called saying she was off work and I invited her to head to the garage to see what I’m always off doing.  Upon her arrival she utters “I’m only watching one run and heading home.”  After a long shift, Amanda bordering on starvation, she was more interested in eating than watching me skate.  Finally I knew her priorities! 

After enjoying herself more than expected Amanda stayed for several runs.  On about the 5th or 6th that she watched I tried a particularly hard slide and went headfirst into the ground, my helmet and wrist guards breaking my fall.  Unfazed I continued to skate several more runs.  On about run 9, I was carving and tail-sliding particularly hard, showing off basically.  For the second time in 5 minutes I again fly headfirst over my board, sliding on my wrist guards right at Amanda and Bill (he had stopped for a breather near where Amanda sat).  I popped up and relatively unscathed I hollered “Now that’s what pads are for!”   And it was! Having fallen twice, my wrist was a little bruised and my hip skinned, but other than flesh wounds was completely fine.  I left the garage thoroughly satisfied with my session and quite proud of my skating.  I even enjoyed the falls!

Fast forward to Sunday.

Sitting at the house, trying to bug John into taking out the boat; I decided screw it, I’m heading by myself to the garage to get some exercise. I had resolved to get on my board at least 5 days a week, and having nothing else to do, why not go by myself?  I would stay within my limits to assure I didn’t fall again on my heavily bruised palm and wrist.  

Skating for almost two hours, I was thoroughly exercised and felt I had continued to improve on my Friday night session.  Turning towards my car I tried to skate out a very narrow space between a pole and a curb, and dammit if I didn’t clip that curb with my wheel!  The board creeping like molasses, it was still enough that I went flying to the pavement.  Immediately, feeling faint and lightheaded,  I knew I had hurt myself. Sweat pouring out, my entire arm numb, I struggled to remove my pads and get into the car.

Arriving home, Amanda and I assessed the damage.  I had shooting pains down from my elbow, my lower arm had a spot of black and blue, and my elbow was a mess- a swollen piece of meat and bone.  I could already hear the “I told you so’s,” and resolved early to avoid the doctor. However, after consulting my old friend Michael, now a NYC-ER doctor, we decided to head to OU Med Center to be assessed.  

I waited like 4 hours in serious pain!  Finally I told Amanda that if the triage nurses didn’t think it was an emergency, why did I!  ”Let’s avoid the co-pay and call it a night.  See how it is tomorrow. If they tell me to go home and ice it I’ll be really pissed.”  And with that we left.  

It’s now Tuesday night and my arm continues to improve.  I think I badly bruised my UCL and jammed my arm from wrist to shoulder. No more shooting pain, but it does continue to ache.  No matter,  I fully plan on boarding this weekend! 

My conclusion…injuries are temporary.  So is adrenaline, but the rush keeps you high for a lifetime.  When boardriding or doing anything else, commit to it, go for it and don’t be defeated by a little pain or fear. Life is short, live it to the fullest!

The Biggest Danger to Rock & Roll

Folks, I’m worried. There is a dangerous scepter on the horizon, which unchecked could be the biggest danger to rock ‘n roll since Scott Stapp. So bad is this scourge that speaking the name makes my buttcheeks squeeze tight. Yes, you’ve probably guessed it by now, I’m talking about The Jonas Brothers! (SQUEEZE!)

Until recently, I’ve had the great pleasure of having never seen any of these guys or heard their music. My ignorance sweet, but shortlasting, my musical palette has forever been tainted by America’s newest, most favoritist boy-band. (Is boy band hyphenated? The word shouldn’t exist.)

There is a loop at my work that plays their music video “Look Me In the Eyes,” often enough to make me so unhinged that I feel the need to rant about it here…on my longboarding blog!

Allow me to quote Wikipedia:

“The Jonas Brothers are an American pop-rock band from Wyckoff, New Jersey made up of three brothers: Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas…throughout 2005, the Jonas Brothers went on several tours, including Kelly Clarkson, Jesse McCartney, the Backstreet Boys, and The Click Five.^[2][24] They spent the latter portion of the year on an anti-drug tour with Aly & AJ and”

The “and,” is followed by the words, “The Cheetah Girls!” AAAARGH!

So that’s kinda who these guys are, I could get more detailed by saying that the main attraction, youngest Jonas Nick, cut his chops on Broadway. I think that having been on Broadway at any age is a hell of an accomplishment, but it certainly doesn’t qualify you to be a rock ‘n roll star! In addition to having been on Broadway Nick’s first album was…you guessed it…Christian rock! “Calling all children of the 80’s, we’ve got a Stryper situation!”

So, it was one thing when this Nick Jonas was acting on Broadway, and I wouldn’t have a problem with his parent’s packaging his two obviously less-talented brothers with him and getting him onto the Disney Channel, touring with Miley Cyrus, if it stopped there. But no! Now, these Jonas parents (imagine the worst stage-parent possible and multiply by a million) have sold children across the USA their sons as rock stars!

The video, “Look Me In the Eye,” is the classic rock montage of live concerts mixed with backstage and tour-bus-type footage. About 3 seconds in, the rock ‘n roll cliched stage moves begin. The lead singer jumps around like David Lee Roth, dancing with the mic-stand as if he were Axl Rose or Steven Tyler. The guitarists one-legging across the stage pretending to be Angus Young, later spinning and spread-leg in a shameless Jimmy Page mockery! The culmination of the disgraceful concert footage is the lead guitar and singer, leaning back-to-back, a carbon-copy of the famous Jeff Ament/Eddie Vedder poster.

Obviously, these kids were put through rock ‘n roll school and packaged together as the next big thing! Forced to watch hours of video of yesterdays rockers, most likely shocked at the things they were witnessing. “Mom, dad, were those girls showing their breasts?,” asks youngest Nick. “Why yes, son, the display of breasts is common at a rock ‘n roll show, the objectification of women is something we hope to change about rock concerts.” These kids have no idea what rock ‘n roll is all about! Correct me if I’m wrong, but rock is about pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, cutting your teeth in dive and strip bars, hassling with some ass-hole manager about revenue. After shows, a real rocker has a threesome with strippers, drinking Jack Daniels until sunup. As far as I’m concerned these brats are doing it backwards. They can be role-model Christian dudes after their big post-rehab comeback when their 45-years-old. In their teens and twenties, they need to wreck cars, destroy hotel rooms and generally be a menace to society. I have utter contempt for this squeaky-clean image being sold as rock ‘n roll. Rock ‘n roll by definition is the rejection of establishment; it’s about getting your first tattoo or venerial disease. Rock ‘n roll love songs are best embodied by the Guns ‘n Roses favorite “I Used to Love Her,”(…but I had to kill her!) When I hear this 18 year-old singing “tell me that you love me,” it literally makes my body heave. Kids don’t know anything about love! A rock ‘n roll band’s early albums have to be about hating your parents, losing your virginity or “smokin’ in the boy’s room.” The only silver-spoon a rock star should have any knowledge of is the one he cooks his heroin in! And as a rule, you can’t have a ballad until you are at least 25 and been divorced from a minimum of 2 super-models.

I bet some people would argue that a clean image is a good thing and that rock gods as role models is okay…IT ISN’T! I’m with the stereotypical 1950’s Baptist preacher when I say, rock ‘n roll is a bad influence on kids! It is supposed to be. Parent’s, do not, I repeat, do not allow your children to be exposed to rock ‘n roll until they are old enough to handle it and realize that all the excess and decadence, while cool, would most-likely ruin their life and may someday ruin that of the rock star they idolize. If your kid can’t handle that, let them listen to Taylor Swift and High School Musical tunes, they aren’t ready for rock ‘n roll. Don’t lie to your child and tell them that the Jonas Brother are rockers…they’re not. They’re a glorified boy-band that has no idea about the immoral responsibility that comes with being a rock star! Rock ‘n roll isn’t for 10-year old girls, it’s for 10 girls at the same time!

So that’s how I really feel about the Jonas Brothers. I know most of you are shocked to hear this from a parent, but like I said, rock ‘n roll ain’t for kids. My daughter will be eased into rock by her loving father; the trials and tribulations of a rock star such as the Stone Temple Pilot’s, Scott Weiland, will make a great bed time story. If you want to keep your kids clean, slowly expose them to the stories of great men ruined by the rock star lifestyle, not to a boy-band of Poseurific proportions! Once you’ve lost your credibility with your kids, you’ve lost it for good.

Life These Days…

Veronica at 7 months!

I suppose it’s time to address my feelings about my new hobby and how they relate to my life today…boyfriend, father, son, among many other distinctions.

I’ve been rejuvenated by my new pursuit. Out skating with my friends, whether in the parking garage or anywhere else, feels appropriate at this time and place. My duties as a father always come first, but when I’m able to schedule some free time for myself, it seems to revolve around meeting up with Bill and the fellas to go to the garage.

There’s been many good by-products of my skating other than the obvious pleasure it brings me. Case in point…would anyone really think I’d even know what power-cleans are? Well not only do I know, but I directly relate their severity and frequency to the harder carving-faster skating I’m now able to do. I regularly find myself on the elliptical, swimming or doing some sort of sweat- inducing activity. I guess what I’m saying is that my skating has lead me to strive to be a better person, physically and mentally than I felt like being beforehand.

Having a hobby makes everyone easier to tolerate. I firmly believe that many relationship problems, whether peer, parental or any other kind, can be prevented by both parties engaging in personally fulfilling pursuits. Whew, try saying that 5 times fast! People with hobbies get more out of life…I’m not afraid to say it. It’s redundant.

I do understand the thought that this is some sort of early-midlife-crisis. Possible…I did just turn 30. However, I think that this whole aspect of my life, and by that I mean longboarding, has been a long time coming. This may seem childish in many respects, but I haven’t felt so alive in a long time! I guess we all accept growing older differently. It’s a choice to become stagnant and out-of-touch. That’s not what life is about in the time we live in. Life’s about impact…whether to yourself or others. Do something that stands out from the crowd and screams everything that you are about! For some it’s shopping, golf, or many other activities that get our blood pumping and help us forget about our troubles. For me, right now-at this point in my life, it’s longboarding.