OK, first things first. We had two folks nail the right answer! Both Amy and Jason! Sorry, Jason, that I only give out one print per question. I do give you props though for naming both the specific area (elementary school right next to Franklin) and the fact that they were short rails I was trying. Amy, let me know what you’d like and I’ll send it off, congrats!
Now, I realize that some of you might be wondering about your own answers, and so I’d like to give a quick explanation. At the orthodontist I did try something for the first time, but it wasn’t a rail. It was jumping over the entire shrubbery in front of the building (I think an 8 or 10 foot gap). As for the headgear, I did have a choice. Unfortunately for yours truly, my brother beat me to the choice between two colors: neon pink and neon green. That was all they offered, and I truly got the shaft! I’m happy for you, Alisa, I love blue…but that’s more of the tone my days began to exude in middle school as a result of sporting that bad boy bright band. But hey, at least I wasn’t one of the guys who for a week thought it would be cool to start a trend of wearing boxers instead of shorts to school…The Lincoln High gig was a first attempt, but at a very long, steep rail. The “cool” senior guys always chilled at this location before school, so when I gave them some entertainment one morning they were quite amused. However, the entertainment was not me completing the rail. It consisted of two tries. The first, I got on the rail (front-side) and made it 3/4 of the way down before jumping off doing the splits so as to clear the end of the rail by millimeters! The second, they were so pumped that they wanted to see it again. Being young and prone to senior recognition, I went for it. This time, however, upon my feet touching the rail the ceased their forward momentum of sliding and I had to bail off backwards, attempting to save some dignity by going into a roll or sorts, but ending in a very flat landing on my belly, legs, face, etc. on the steps, proceeding to roll down the remainder of my flight in a very scattered manner. When I got up, no one was left expect a friend that helped me meander to my locker and remove the pads, helmet, blades, and dust off as much as possible. It was quite the experience, and I’m sure the seniors will never forget it as it took them by surprise and only lasted around 3 minutes…
I do have pictures of this stuff, but I’ve got to dig them up and scan them, so I’ll try and post all these moments in the coming week. Thanks for staying tuned, and I loved the answers!
In closing I offer this image, which I feel truly represents my state of existence at the moment. Espen. Fall. Play. At times, very peaceful…
by Joel
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