On Skateboarding

Last year Yosuke told me that he began skateboarding, and I laughed at him because he was 33 years old. “What in the hell was he doing?” I thought, but in a way, I loved Yosuke’s innocence and purity… A few months before that, he began indoor rock climbing, which I would have never even thought about doing, but since it sounded like fun, I gave it a try as well and eventually got hooked… But skateboarding was another thing. Skateboarding was hard. I remember in high school how all the cool kids were doing it, and how much I wanted to fit in, so I tried, but no matter the amount I practiced, I wasn’t any good. I wished I had started years before like they had, but the reality was I was just a poser… so I gave up.

A couple weeks after Yosuke had told me that he was skateboarding, I met him at the train station to go climbing and he had brought his board with him. I gave it a try at the park nearby and immediately remembered how fun it was… and since I was 29 then, I didn’t have to worry about all that trivial scene-ster shit, so I eventually bought a board and began skating everyday for the pure pleasure of it.

I still couldn’t do any tricks, so I gave up trying. Now I just ride to get from place to place. What I like about skateboarding is that it makes you feel on top of things plus adults hate you and the kids stare at you like you are a god.

A few months later, I saw a guy about 40 or 45 with a board on the train. He looked so weird with it because he was so old. I texted Yosuke about it, and he wrote me back saying that would be us one day. I immediately thought, “Oh God..." because I knew he was probably right.