Wisdom From the Acient Masters of Alt.Skate-Board (Part 6)

Thoai Tran wrote 14 installments of Zen and Skateboarding. Here is Part 6. See introductory comments I wrote on this post for full context of the entire series.

I work at a bar. It closes at 2am. My sessions often don't start until after 3am. Thus, I often skate alone, and very late at night. Part Six rings true, in many ways.

Part Six: Shining Star
One night, Master Ch'an reflected.

"I come here to skate at this spot each night. I am always alone. The groups of kids which came here together had departed from this place together. The sounds of the boards popping against the ground, the crackling grinds on the waxed curbs, and the yellings and screamings had since departed with them too. As I sit on this board, catching my breaths after a long session has just ended, my eyes gaze at the stars that line the blackness of the night's skies..."

"Each of those stars that my eyes are fixed upon is so far away from my body and my world, and from each other. Each has a certain shine unique to itself. One star seems to have a constant shine; while another sparkles on and off, on and off. Another star appears to have a brighter glow, perhaps indicative of a closer distance to my world; while that little speck above me is barely noticeable. Each is so far away, so alone in the infinite vastness of the universe. Yet each shines ever brightly, for years and years, and for many years to come...and for many years, each has been looked at, scrutinized, and mapped out by traveling sailors who look above for guidance..."

"The road to the stars is never easy. It is always traveled alone. While others are engaged in futile mimicry of fleeting trends, I find myself alone at this spot, to pursue that which is eternal and infinite, to self-cultivate my own spiritual being, to be in harmony with myself, my skateboard, and my infinite universe. While others are engaging in senseless competition, to see who has the higher ollie, to see who can do the most flips, to see who has the better skate clothes, I find myself alone to cultivate my own development and perfect my own art...Thus my spiritual development will indeed shine."

"While others wait for the telephone to ring, I find myself alone at this spot, because I am the one who has decided to go skating, regardless whether others just happen to be in the mood to do so, regardless whether others are planning a get-together. I have taken it upon myself to do what is natural and perfect for me, because the road to the stars is walked upon by my own two feet..." 

"Although other people may not agree with my ideas, have the same tastes, dress the same, or look the same as me, that does not justify my looking down on them, feeling superior, or becoming arrogant towards them. Like a fruit that looks so fresh and ripe on the outside, but is rotten with maggots and worms in its core, an arrogant skater is nothing but a spoiled fruit that ruins the whole barrel. I am alone, but younger skaters shall look up to me for guidance because I am the only one who shall show them the right directions when they are lost. I am the only one who shall show them how to slide their front foot during an ollie. Although my repertoire is limited in the number of complex maneuvers and intricate flip tricks, I am willing to extend my hands to others when they need my help. Like the familiar star that greets the lost traveler, I will thus shine..." 

"Like a star that is fueled by unmeasurable amount of energy, I am fueled by my love for skating. All tangible materials are fleeting and shall be lost with time. The skate shoes that I wore when I first started had since long disappeared, to be replaced by the different ones, with different colors, and different styles. But they too shall disappear with time, and many skaters will disappear with them. But this fuel within me, this love, is intangible and all encompassing. It shall continue to burn, long after the night's darkness is replaced by the morning's brightness. Friends come and go, and they too shall disappear into the night's darkness after the skate session has ended. But the love shall remain to shine in the darkness of night. Even when the clouds cover the skies and prevent other people from looking at this brightness, it does not matter to me, because I know that it is still there...to burn for me and me only. Even when my flesh is covered by different styles of clothing, it does not matter, because that glow shall remain the same..."

"The road to the stars is never easy...It is always traveled alone...but it always good to have love as your traveling partner..."

So shines the star...
 

He Nodded, Knowingly

I work at a large bar/nightclub in a large city. You see/deal with crazy shit. It changes you.

Tonight: Violent patron. Fight. Blood. Restrain until police arrived. EMTs. We legit had to mop up blood before it was all over. Co-worker later said to me, "I hit my knee hard on the floor when he took me down." I said to him, "Working here is a lot like skateboarding, only you don't get hurt as much." He nodded.  

You Look Like a Torture Victim

A regular patron at work came up to me last week. He said, "It is frightening. You always limp in here. Open wounds on knees and elbows. Scabs all over your shins. Palms look like you were just taken down from a cross. You look like a torture victim. It's frightening because there is obviously on-going bodily injury. It makes people recoil to see that. I have to ask. What the hell is going on with you?"

Without a second's hesitation I responded, "I am a skateboarder."

"Oh," he said, "That makes sense."

Things That Speak for Themselves

Three random photos from the Instagram accounts of Antihero and Nike SB. 

Wisdom From the Acient Masters of Alt.Skate-Board (Part 5)

Thoai Tran wrote 14 installments of Zen and Skateboarding. Here is Part 5. See introductory comments I wrote on this post for full context of the entire series. 

NOTE ON PART 5: In Part 5, Tran's writing does seem somewhat dated, mostly because he speaks of rollerbladers. They are now mostly absent from skate parks and skate spots. I am sure if Tran was writing this in 2015, he would be talking about scooters, or maybe longboarders (albeit they don't directly copy skate culture as much as rollerbladers did, and scooter kids are never found outside a skate park. When was the last time a scooter got in your way at your local curb?). That said, there are much deeper lessons in Part 5 than surface level distinctions between rollerbladers and scooter-people. One must not mistake the finger pointing at the moon, for the moon itself.    

Part Five: Songs of Life

I had a grudge against rollerbladers. I did not like the way they imitated skaters, wore the same style of clothing, use the same skate lingo, and pull off those lame easy tricks. I was disgusted to see rollerbladers everywhere, including at all the skate-spots. I listened to many skaters, as they condemned rollerblading, giving lists after lists of attributes that make our sport so much better, so much more beautiful. Master Ch'an was in the area, so I decided to drop by, and discussed my impressions with him about rollerblading. Surely the master himself must agree with me...and perhaps may even give some of his own reasons.

This was what Master Ch'an said:

"Every morning, I am greeted by this wonderful lark. It sings the most beautiful melodies as it flies down to one of the trees outside my house. It sings exactly when the morning sun is coming up, as though to greet the brightness of the day and welcome the inevitable sunshine. It does this every morning, regardless whether other birds are present. It does not seem to particularly care about the other birds, because it does not stop singing when they are around. It does not stop singing to see what the other birds might do, to contemplate its differences, to feel superior or inferior to them. It just sings and sings, every morning, day after day. It is the lark's inherent nature to do so, to do what is natural and perfect for itself. It is content with its own nature."

"My friend, too often have I seen arrogance among skaters. Like this lark that is content with its own being, if you are happy with who you are, then why should you let other people bother you, upset you? If you love what you do so much, then why should you stop and reflect on your differences with others? Why should you stop your skating to condemn others? It is your own inherent nature to skate. You skate because it is natural, it is a reflection of you, not because others aren't the same as you or aren't part of your reflection. Does this lark stop singing because other birds are around? So you too must not stop skating when other people, who may not have the inherent nature to skate, but perhaps to ride a bicycle, or drive a car, or do things on rollerblades...when these people are around. Another bird can sing beautiful melodies just before twilight or can fly longer distances. Does that make this lark or the other bird inferior or less beautiful? Absolutely not, because it is still beautiful with its own special inherent nature. "

"My friend, let skating become the locus of your universe. Let it become part of your reality, part of your inherent nature. Skate because it is natural for you and for you only. Like a lark that sings the most beautiful melodies, use your skating to bring refreshing melodies into your life. Don't stop skating when others are around you. If you see rollerbladers around you, don't get upset and let them ruin your skating. Why should others ruin what is natural, what is inherent, or perfect for you? Learn to appreciate the beauty of your own skating, as well the beauty of others. Sing your own melodies that will greet the burning sun within you."

"Just shut up and skate"*

So spoke Master Ch'an

*T.A. Paterson

For the Moment, It Is Ours.

I often skate this curb after work. I get off shift around 2:45am. My sessions are alone, and very late. One night I noticed that black car in the background. Looked like a cop car. Thought I would soon get kicked out. Nothing happened. After a bit of time, I realized it was just parked there. No one seemed to be sitting in it. Prolly an overnight worker at the near by building. Didn’t think anything of it.  

Every night I go skating, it is there. Sometimes in a different spot, but always at that exact same far end of the parking lot. With time, it became part of the background. I never noticed it anymore. Until one night, about 3 months ago. It was about 4:30am. I had been skating for about 45 min at that point. Suddenly, a light in the car went on. Then one of the doors opened. Someone got out. They started walking towards me. I am a security guard (e.g. bouncer) at a bar/night club, and I took Shotokan karate for 5 years. I am not afraid of conflict (nor do I seek it). "The life of a Repo Man is always intense."

As the person walked towards me, I just thought, “OK, let’s see where this goes.” The person then turned off into the bushes, took a piss, and went back to the car. I now realized what this whole car was about. Someone was living out of it. This is where they parked at night. This was "home." A mix of feelings came over me.

First, was annoyance. I liked this spot because I was all alone at night. Now there was an invader.

Second, I was wondering if the noise from skating woke them up/kept them awake. Should I feel bad? No. Huge parking lot. They could move to other side if that was an issue.  

Third, was the realization that they were most likely thinking the same thing about me. Who is this invader freak that comes skateboarding at 4am? GTFO. 

Forth, and most important, was a sense of solidarity. This parking lot is normally filled with normal people, going about their normal lives. At 4am, nothing normal is going on here. Rather, it is a place of exile. A place for rejects, losers, and outliers to escape. Tonight, the auto-dweller was watching me skate for a while. In turn, I was watching them, watching me. There seems to be an unspoken understanding between us. At 4am, this parking lot becomes a sanctuary for the underclass, a place where we are free from the judgmental eye of  normal people. Here, at 4am, we share a space and time, knowing that for the moment, it is ours.

Do what you love, before you can’t.

Someone made a comment to me about skateboarding and the so-called mid life crisis the other day (e.g. the implied that I was having one, and that’s why I was still skating). Paraphrased, this was my response.

A mid-life crisis is when someone tries to either assert how so-called young they are, or they decide their life is not going the way they wanted it to, and suddenly make some rash/bad decisions. I have been skateboarding for 29 years. There is nothing in life I have loved more. The reality check is that I am 41-years-old. I do not have many more summers in me where I will be skateboard, at all, let alone with what ability I still have. I need make the best use of the time I have left, before age, and a crippled body, takes it away from me forever. I am not asserting how young I am. Quite the contrary. I am asserting how old I am. I have not decided I don’t like where my life is going. I am a skateboarder, and that is exactly where I want my life to be. It’s not a mid-crisis. It’s a mid-life awakening. Do what you love, before you can’t.