Bullies and the Human Body

When I was a teenager we lived in a tough neighborhood. There were bullies in our neighborhood, and if you didn’t watch out they would, “Kick your ass.” That was the operative phrase, when I was in junior high school. I never saw anybody get their “ass kicked”. We just heard that threat a lot. Now as an adult I know men by nature are big talkers and little doers. Most men are weak and afraid, and they use that façade of a bully as an offensive mechanism to ward off hassles in their lives. There were a variety of bullies in our neighborhood, every bit as tough as the ghetto crowd living in the alleyways of Dogtown. That is why I feel I have something in common with the Dogtown crowd. It sounds like I am sucking up, but I am not. After contemplation over the Dogtown connection, I discovered many of these skaters came from dysfunctional homes, and therefore probably didn’t have the educational opportunities some have. If you don’t go to vocational school, junior college, or college your employment opportunities as an adult are limited. Luckily the sheer heart and work ethic of the Dogtown crowd served them well. They are doing okay. Still I ask myself, “What’s the point of being interested in the Dogtown way of life and vintage skateboard paraphernalia?” The answer is there is integrity in the historical lineage of skateboard design. Whereas Jeff Ho’s compatriots, shapers, may have balked at the idea that a skateboard could be a high tech/high performance machine, a group of die hard surf-inspired skaters endured and pushed the industry to great heights in the late 70’s. Companies were making lots of dough selling skateboards to kids. Like any good business it takes a lot to sustain that activity. Many of the companies did not endure, because they didn’t know what they were doing. That is why G&S, Freeformer, Bahne, Kryptonics, and others needed professional skaters on their teams. They needed people who knew what was important in designing and manufacturing a skateboard. This could only come from experience riding the board. It stands to reason your average CEO or MBA could not hold their own on a small piece of wood and fiberglass with four wheels. It took a combination of vision, business savvy, and hands on experience in the skateboard world to be successful. Gordon and Smith has endured. So has Powell. These are companies who are the roots of the sport, men and women who embrace surfing and skating as a lifestyle. To them it is an integral part of their being providing something that seems unattainable in everyday American lifestyle. It is based upon a water/beach oriented existence first presented in the Gidget series of Hollywood motion pictures. Similarly movies like Beach Blanket Bingo presented a surreal, almost magical, and sensory-appealing escapism as an alternative to the fast-paced urban lifestyle represented in many major American cities. Manufacturers jumped on the skateboard bandwagon, but not many lasted. If you want to sell boards and a dream, then you need to have a “concept” that appeals to the skater at a deeper level. Some of the companies in the late 70’s, when skateboarding was burgeoning, did this by using of design and technology. They used manufacturing technology to advance the art of skateboard design. Kryptonics introduced the “core” to the polyurethane skateboard wheel producing a faster ride by utilizing higher tolerances in wheel engineering. “Mr.” Bennett began using aircraft-grade aluminum in his truck baseplates producing a much stronger structure upon which to torque one’s body in a semi-vertical carve. Gordon and Smith continued with their tradition of laminating fiberglass over hard rock maple to produce a board with flex, therefore power in navigating slalom cones. It is interesting history, much like the history of American hobbies we have embraced over the decades. America is different than most other countries in the world, and there had to be something that made us great. Holy war, pilgrimages, civil unrest, sectarian violence, and Communism have not contributed to the greatness of America. What has are creativity, humanity, and a quest for a more enlightened therefore happy way of life. If the “Pursuit of Happiness” was a major clause in our country’s Declaration of independence, we as a people should feel no remorse or guilt for pursuing it. The evil tenants of extreme Islam should not influence our way of life. When comparing the suggestions, “Committing suicide in order to have your way with 72 virgins,” and “Designing and engaging in sporting activity that promotes healthy living,” what seems wiser? The thought of being tortured for telling jokes, listening to music, and dancing may seem ominous, but rest assured all of these activities are not frowned upon by God. It depends upon whom in which you believe. We have a choice. Allah, Buddha, God. If we as a people begin to think these activities are sins, then we are falling prey to the propaganda-like brainwashing radical Islams have been pushing our way via the internet. They realized quickly the shock value of a medium that is so immediate. Cyber-dome operates in a theatre of greater velocity than everyday life. That can be the beauty of it. Conversely the lure of this can be the cause of great failures in business. Education, experience, and endurance cannot be replaced in the everyday lives of humans. It is detrimental for human beings to try to exist in a fantasy world, when our physical being is predicated by life in nature. Our existence as designed by God is reliant upon our senses. Jesus repeatedly suggested in the bible, “Let us eat fish and drink wine.” Revel in the senses He has given us as human being. Enjoy the things He has provided us in nature, the small thing, that are a large part of our survival. They heal us from the harshness of everyday urban life. A sunset. A cool breeze. A quiet nap. Clean drinking water. The feel of salt on our skin. These sensations are the blessings of the human being. To do without them as a result of irresponsibility to our planet via bad government is not an option. The resurgence of business related to the design, manufacturing, and selling of products related to human sensory enjoyment is important. Fast food, television, and cars are a shallow and superficial way to live. Engaging the human body and therefore the human spirit is more what God had in mind.