Grand opening at the new skate park was last weekend- first day of Spring Break for all the local kids. I'll bet there were 350 people there. Being an old skateboarder, rollerblader and cyclist, I'm very supportive of this project. They tried to build these things when I was a teenager, but they were always made out of concrete and required huge investments of money, real estate and were staffed, making them very high maintenance. This thing just sits there. I don't think it even has hours. Very cool.
I had a funny experience as I was hanging out firing off some pics. When I was a kid, no one even dreamed of protective equipment. Helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards- nonexistent. I guess the dawning of the Litigious Era introduced all that. But, ya know, I survived childhood without all that crap. However, when I started riding bikes seriously and skating ramps, I wore ALL that stuff. I even wore HIP pads! I wore this not for the lawyers, but to protect my butt. Literally.
But I have become so accustomed to all the protections of society we have been blessed with, I found it surprising that only a handful of kids had helmets. Maybe 5 out of that crowd of 350 or so. Two sets of knee pads. NO wrist guards. In fact the sign on the entry gate says "Protective equipment recommended". I had to go back and remember my childhood where we didn't even wear shoes to race each other up and down the street on our Stingrays.
So all the kids are digging this new skate park. Sure, I saw a few kids get banged up. Scraped knees, busted butts, sore wrists. Lots of collisions. But no one left in an ambulance. I'm not saying going without equipment is a good idea. I'm just making an observation. At this point I would NEVER get out there in anything less than a Michelin Man suit. Of course, I've had about 3 concussions.
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