Skateboarding, Surfing and the Emergency Room

Did I tell you I hate skateboarding? It is a complicated relationship with skateboarding so let me try to explain.

When I lived in Venice as a mini grom the waves were terrible. But as chronicled in the Z Boys movie my friends created an industry. We skated to do something when there wasn't surf.

YMCA Skate park after school skate for Logan

My first trip to the ER from skating was when my sister broke her arm trying to skate down a hill. She was a regular part of the Z Boys crew and we spent a good part of a Saturday when I was about 11 in the ER.

Next was me falling on a half pipe in 1978. The helmets were worthless. I was unconscious and woke up to start a fight which I was able to compliment my concussion with a set of stitches and lost memory for three days.





Here is Logan getting some air.

Logan was the third trip to the ER. He came home a few years ago complaining about some pain in his arm after falling skating. Of course I told him he was fine and if it was broke it would hurt a lot worse.

The next morning we went down to surf at Avo's. Logan did not want to surf because his arm was hurting. Bob Rogers was there. Bob looked at his arm and then looked at me "get him to the Emergency Room...NOW!" Now you guys that know Bob is not one for yelling or getting visibly upset very often. I figured out pretty fast that his arm was broken. The adrenaline hit and I went flying to the ER. I must have ran 3 red lights with Bob's 'get him to the ER' in my head. The nurses and Radiology tech looked at me like ...you couldn't tell that this was broke? Sure enough Logan had his wrist broken in two places. Father of the year award goes to ...

Last year right before summer started. Logan comes running in. "Lucas is hurt!"
We get in the car and find him on the ground down the hill. His face is bloody.

He went down the hill on a skateboard with no helmet falling and putting us in the ER from 6pm and getting home at 2am. Slight Concussion.

Here is the last of the sequence.

But they come back to me and say 'we want to skate Dad..It is like surfing' So what can I do? There not asking to smoke crack or go to Star Trek conventions.

I am a sucker. I make sure they wear their helmets and let them skate. And every once in a while I will watch from the side and think....that looks fun.