Cheer up, spring is on its way!

Someone told me that according to historical averages, Sunday (Jan 11) is the coldest day of winter. So now that we're past that, it's all up from here. Slowly, but surely things will be warming up. 

I was looking through some skate pictures that a relative (props to Greg W!) shot of me at the skatepark on one of the last nice days of fall. I can't wait to get to the park again.

These two are a sequence. The second is my favorite.

Below is an old skool (everything I do at the park is old skool) judo air...
Below is an ollie out of the small quarter. The rush of flying through the air keeps me coming back!
The next six shots are a sequence of a Christ Air. This isn't the prettiest one, but you get the point. At the climax of the move, you are supposed to be in the form of a cross. At the skatepark, it's always good to have a trick that allows me to share Jesus.

The next four are a Japan air. It's a cool trick when it gets really tweaked out. This is a little less than stellar, but it works...

(below) A simple ollie down the stairs is something any chump at the park can do. But you can never take for granted the danger involved in skating. I've had some gnarly injuries over the years, and I can't help but encourage my kids to do something else with their youth. 

Besides, the more I'm at the park, the more I realize skateboarding is less a sport, and more an identity. A lot of the kids you'll find there are fatherless, insecure, and desperately wanting acceptance and attention. I wouldn't want my child there unsupervised. 

Oh yeah, and if there are any teens reading this...wear a helmet. It's saved my life a couple times. Last time I was in the ER getting stitches on my knee (stupid accident on the rail), the doctor told me, "This cut is OK... cuts and broken bones will heal, but I can't fix a brain injury."

"No one wears a helmet...it's not cool." 

Cool won't help you when you can only talk with slurred speech because you cracked your head on the pavement.