| : : Well kids, I keep thinking this RC has surprised me for last time (& it hasn't even begun!) then some new news reaches me ,from or regarding, yet another rollerskater who's come out of the woodwork for my little event here in Vegas.
: : 1st confirmed RC Virgin was Biff, whom I look forward to skating AND hanging with GREATLY.:) Then Tim Altec.Good..good. Strong rumors of Fred Blood. Pretty Sweet.
: : And now,one near AND dear to My Heart.....
: : My Old Man. Yes. My Dad. He's an Old School Rollerskater (Parallel!! HElls Yeah! LOL!) who actually broke his knee in a pool in late 70's ( Rectors really sucked for protection). He's got a metal knee cap. They told him he'd NEVER run again or walk without a cane when it happened. He was not only doing BOTH those things, he was skating 13 foot concrete again within 6 months. But parks died in Michigan (my home state) in late 70's & he hung up his sk8s.
: : Well, he's coming out for RC...actually almost a week before RC & he wants to SK8!! We're gonna hit a park or 2 Pre-RC to let him get his sk8 legs back, but he's in good shape & the equipments MUCH better today than it was back in the Day.
: : So, he'll turn 62 less than a week after RC. I think, if he ends up skating, he'll handily take Oldest Skater of the Year Props. :) I'm Stoked. All my friends. All those girlies :) & my Dad too. It is gonna be Crazy.
: : Anyway, here's a pic circa '78 or '79 (maybe I can get Dad on Forum to testify to date himself), actually a scanned series of pics of Dad. One he's in an Invert, another he's falling on failed invert. Res is bad, sorry , but these ARE pretty old. No digital cams in the Day!
: : 
: :
: : Is that, or is that not the shit?!
: : So, get your pads cleaned, your bearing greased, & your Asses to Vegas!
: : PEACE......................Jay
:
: Let's not let expectations get too high just yet, Jay has remained upright on the 4 wheeled roadrash shoes for a lot longer than I did. That having been said, I am really ready for RC madness to start. Biffsk8er is right about the rectors and knee high socks - and the dive, think it was a 8.7 or 8.8 on the judges cards. Guess you had to have been a survivor of the 60s to understand the bizarre yet somehow strangely attractive fashion of the 70s. The pants were rectors too with inserts that could withstand shocks of up to 2 mph if you didn't land on anything hard.
:
: The skates available over the counter were really suckey so we made our own. Take a perfectly good pair of Bauer hockey skates, cut off the blade then cannibalize a skateboard for wheel and trucks and - PRESTO - you were rolling fat. My brother and I played on a traveling roller hockey team from about 1975 to 1980 something and Jay saw more than a few terrific fights mixed into hours of mediocre hockey. Remind me to tell you about the infamous incident between the brothers Cloetens and the brothers Hanson ( no,no,no not those Hanson brothers, think Paul Newman in Slapshot).
:
: Can't wait to see my new Grandson, my wonderful Daughter in law and my Boy and to meet everyone. I especially look forward to meeting Fred, I was just out of surgery and still hospitalized from a mishap during an exhibition skate in a figure 8 bowl ( 5' on the shallow end 16' the deepness ) so the wife took Jay to see Fred skate an cop some face time with his hero.
:
: Oh yeah, ask me about the 3 hours 2 crane 11 fireman with ropes and a basket removal of yours truly from the deep end after the "incident". I might not be able to hang with the radical vert skaters but I got stories galore. AND, they're from so long ago, nobodys around to dispute facts which, as my Dad always said, can really screw up a good story.
:
: See you in Vegas
: The OG
I'm so stoked to meet you! And I can't wait to see your grandson, too!
Wow, 3 generations... and who knows? In a few years you could have a 3-gen skate team, cuz i'm sure Ryder's gonna be a lil' ripper, it's in the dna. Can't wait. Be there soon.
|