I remember when Matthew was about seven or eight, we lived in married student housing despite neither of us actually being married. The apartments were at the base of a hill. The hill boasted a playground and a sidewalk which ultimately led to campus but was used by the children at Westview to rollerblade and such. Bear decided he needed a skateboard. Just to sit on and coast down the hill. I managed on my miniscule budget to find him a plastic torpedo shaped (I think it was originally red--but had faded to orange) skateboard at a rummage sale. He was ecstatic. He and the Little dude next door (his name was Fun--how cool for a friend to be named Fun!) played for hours. They used two liter soda bottles as makeshift cones to weave in and out around. Gradually, Matty attempted standing up and by the time he hit junior high he was a "skater". He spent days on the driveway "getting air" and practicing his "ollie". He conned the neighbor into welding him a grind rail. The curbs around the house are all scarred with black streaks--the wax long since washed away. He and his buddies got banished from EMU's campus for defacing property. (twice) He paid $85 for a pair of Tony Hawk Jeans--which are now *my* fave pair. Easily six pair of DC shoes (which it turns out are also good for waiting tables!) Bits of wheels and trucks and broken decks still litter my basement.
And then a couple of years ago he asked for a snowboard for Christmas. My angst was elevated to whole new levels of worry. His dad likes to ski so they have something sort of in common (besides video games) it was pretty much out of my line of vision until this winter. Bear joined the MSU ski club and guess where they have been the last week??
mmm hmmm... in Colorado where the snowgods just dumped 44 inches of snow, closing the Denver airport and all major freeways--he claims all is well-- and we pick him up from his 36 hr bus ride sometime Saturday.
At least they didn't fly.
