Crowds

Skateboarding on a Monday is a treat for me, because I don’t have to deal with the crowds at the park. I get to stretch my arms far out without having to be aware of the space I am occupying. Coexistence in the city is challenging for the very fact that we share space with millions of other people. On top of that, the subtropical climate makes it impossible to make it through a day without reacting like a fussy infant. But, a treat is a treat. The sweet life is when you’re having the most fun, and isn’t that what we want?

I also get to take the pressure off of myself. There’s something about pushing with my dominant leg, a regular stance, and coasting through the park. I had gone to Astoria Park for years, but as a 33-year old, I am caring less about whether or not I am good at skateboarding. While it is not an absolute truth that skateboarding requires you to focus on your physical movements, it’s challenging to not pay attention to people at the park that sit on benches outside of the obstacles. Self-judgement comes up for me each session, but it disappears quickly when I begin to stretch. I reach for my toes to see if I am still flexible enough. Then I pay attention to the blue sky without a cloud. When I was 22-years old, I would be at the park trying to figure some shit out. I’d take my aggression out on the rail, and I’d hop onto it with my board with an attack of a tiger in the wild. On certain days, I’d injure myself. On others, I’d walk away clean. Today, I get to just be here. I don’t have to land tricks for anyone but myself.

The best part about skateboarding on Monday is that I get to be in the neighborhood that I spent a lot of my 20s coming up. Astoria still remains a bittersweet part of my life. I hadn’t left it on good terms, but returning to it feels like meeting up with an old friend that you had a disagreement with in the past. You have the chance to make things right, and it feels like bliss once you both learn that you were both looking out and for each other in the end. I skate alone, and I always had. But this time around, it feels like the neighborhood is being sweet to me.