Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Skating Is Not A Crime?


Helmet? - check
Elbow pads? - uh-oh
Knee pads? - well, not so much.
Despite extremely clear instructions, free spirited skateboarders yearn for the liberty to damage themselves. The identity of this little law-breaker has been obscured to protect the guilty. After years of fundraising efforts by a grass-roots committee of interested adults, this beautiful new skatepark provides an array of interesting runs at whatever level you can handle. It's another component of the cultural and recreational facilities on East Commercial Street near the eastern limits of town.

6 comments:

Kym said...

Helmet is pretty good coverage. I know that safest is with everything else but, well, some of my favorite memories are riding in the back of a pickup sitting on the side with the wind blowing my hair. Safe? I don't think so but incredibly exhilarating.

Sometimes I think that kids are attracted to video games because they aren't allowed to experience any real danger themselves.

magiceye said...

limits of safety would be defined by teens individually i suppose.

USelaine said...

Yeah, the truth is, I didn't go out there to bust anyone, and I didn't even notice the "missing pieces" until I looked at the photo on my computer, and was amazed how much he looked like the illustration. I recently read about a new movement called "free-range kids" that wants to restore the less supervised world most of us older folk had - and survived! My grandfather started teaching me to drive in an old jeep on a wood road - no seatbelts and no rollbars - back in the sixties and seventies. And when I skateboarded in LA in the sixties, we didn't wear helmets or any protective gear. On the other hand, we stayed on level concrete. There must be a sensible balance.

USelaine said...

Magiceye - I think you're right that teens usually make their own rules anyway. I suspect this sign is a result of some incident, and the city didn't want to be sued for medical expenses.

Gerald (SK14) said...

You live in such a litigious country that warning signs like this become obligatory - the UK is going that way too and I do feel the excessive emphasis on "safety" is actually unhealthy.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Completely agree with Hyde DP, this is insane. It's in the very nature of teens to do silly things and no amount of fine is going to change that. This sign is unhealthy.