Longboarding

Boy,what happened to me? It's been nearly a year since my last post. Well, the lackluster following had me discouraged about blogging for some time. Also, my change to a night job in this ski town has altered my participation in the daytime world, not that blogs go by the clock. Either way, I have decided that I have something nice to say. Until now, not so much.
I wanted to chime in on skateboarding.
I've been skateboarding since 1972. I've often told this story but never written it down. It was in the wake of the Kennedy assassinations that uppity parents groups managed to pass some sort of restriction on selling toy guns in toy stores. In the wake of their success they moved on to other dangerous toys like skateboards and managed to ban them, too, at least on the east coast. That summer my brother and I spent a month in Mexico City. My aunts, our hosts, brought us to a toy store so we could pickup something for the slack times. My brother and I were amazed to find skateboards for sale there. We bought a board to share with a thick laminate deck that had clay wheels and open bearings. We rode the heck out of it on Parque Avenue in the D.F. When it was time to return to the states we brought the board with us. My hometown has lots of great hills and good pavement. i only recently let the board out of my possession. I wish I hadn't. Since then I've gone through several iterations of boards settling finally on a California mail order board by Weber. The Weber Camberflex is still what I ride. It would now be classified as a mini longboard. I've swapped out the Roadrider wheels for some 72mm Krypotonics and wide, maybe, Gullwing trucks. I seem to recall breaking all my Gullwings of the original ilk but now ride a more traditional version. I have ridden this board hundreds of miles, maybe a thousand or more. I can think of one fifty mile excursion I made with a friend. That was our single longest attempt in NH. I've skated some great hills with it. My M.O. is to ride under a full moon. It's easier to tell if cars are coming and your support ride can follow you down to provide lights in the dark areas. Some of the highlight rides include skating the continental divide Down Rabbitears Pass into Steamboat, CO. It's illegal to skate on CO state roads, by the way. I still have the ticket to prove it. Joshua Tree NP has a 6% grade for 6 miles that is spectacularly lined with Joshua trees. Custer State Park in SD has a fabulous 15mph road that winds through rock formations and makes a great area to tow a skater behind the vehicle. The Kancamagus Highway in NH is also unbeatable,especially since they repaved it.
I still longboard at age 50. Call me old but I keep my speed under 35mph so I can still bail safely if there is trouble. Now I've added a mountain board to my lineup. I've tricked it out to perform like my Weber and installed the street tires. No more getting stopped by rocks, cracks, twigs on the pavement. I like street skating by the time I was made aware of the Ollie, I was too fragile to go through the painful learning curve of broken bones. I harbor no ill will toward street skaters or downhillers. It's all good. Power to the peddlers! Gravity sports rule!

It's On

Summit County, CO, Grand Targhee, WY and soon to be Big Sky come turkey day. I've been up Bridger Bowl thrice, now. Each time with better results. The snow is here and this will be a winter to remember. Don't do anything foolish that would cause you to miss out. No injuries are allowed until spring. By then you'll be strong and won't get injured. Start hiking if you haven't already. You're behind the curve if you haven't skidded on something by now this season.

Here's Johnny

Johnny Come Lately, my alter ego for the day, finally got out of the recording studio to make a quick boot hike under the new lift at Bridger Bowl. The snow was spring-like refreeze and not completely making it to the lodge by now, many day after the last blast of snow that covered the Bowl. The new lift will complete the transformation of Bridger from a local hill with lots of quick steep, highly aesthetic shots to a ski mountain with long sweeping runs that gently roll to the bottom of the lifts. Every run returns you to the bottom of a lift. There are now only four lifts for experienced skiers, Alpine, Pierre's Knob, Schlausshman's (sp?) and the new Bridger lift. Though, there is unloading at midway there is no more loading at midway Bridger for a quick return to the Ridge without waiting in line with intermediates at the bottom who are accessing the old Deer Park runs. They all look nice without the lift towers although the new Bridger lift does leave from the bottom of Boot Hill. Still, that sweet line by the trees of deer Park is now without towers. I expect good things to come from the changes provided the the uphill capacity can truly be increased.

Ancient Mystery Solved

Finally, an ancient mystery has been solved by yours truly. The glass with liquid to the mid point is half empty if you drank the first half and it's half full if someone else drank the first half.

The World View

As best as I can figure, there are a lot of takes on the meaning of life.
To paraphrase the great philosophies… (Are any of them wrong?)

The Psychologist says, “The meaning of life is to avoid death.”
The Neuroscientist says, ”The meaning of life is to maximize reward.”
The Sociologist says “The meaning of life is to fit in.”
The Biologist says “The meaning of life is to reproduce.”
The Platonians say “The meaning of life is to improve the mind.”
Aristotelites say “The meaning of life is to be virtuous.”
The Cynics say ”The meaning of life is to live in harmony with nature.”
The Cyrenists say “The meaning of life is to receive immediate gratification.”
The Epicurusts say “The meaning of life is found in leading a moderate one.”
The Stoics say “The meaning of life is whatever it is and you should like it.”
The Liberalists say “The meaning of life is to live it freely.”
The Kantists say “The meaning of life is to do one’s duty.”
The Utilitarianists say “The meaning of life is to make the most number of people smile.”
The Nihlists say “The meaning of life is what you see is what you get.”
The Pragmatists say “The meaning of life is to live it.”
The Existentialists say “The meaning of life is what you make of it.”
The Absurdusts say” The meaning of life doesn’t exist.”
The Secular Humanists say “The meaning of my life is different than the meaning of yours.”
The Local Positivists say “The meaning of life is a bogus question.”
The Postmodernists say “The meaning of life is to keep evolution going.”
The Social Darwinists say “The meaning of life is to do what comes naturally.”
The Natural Pantheists say “The meaning of life is to care for the Earth.”
The Zoroasterites say “The meaning of life is to behave well.”
The Jews say “The meaning of life is to serve God.”
The Christians say “The meaning of life is to follow the teachings of Jesus.’
The Mormons say “The meaning of life is to be more like God.”
The Muslims say “The meaning of life is to serve God like a party host.”
Those of the Bahai faith say “The meaning of life is to grow spiritually.”
The Hindus say “The meaning of life is to be born well or try it again.”
The Jainists say “The meaning of life is to transcend the material.”
The Buddhists say “The meaning of life is to finish your chores so you can be free from pain.”
The Sikhs say “The meaning of life is to explore God all around us.”
The Shintos say The meaning of life is to live it.”
The Toaists say “The meaning of life is within each of us.”
The Confuciusites say “The meaning of life is in the good and bad of daily living.”

Don't Think Too Hard About It.

Homework? Okay, so maybe any new interview segment is a little like homework. Nobody really has the answer to the meaning of life. (Check out the Wikipedia page on it - fascinating.) I want first impressions or quick answers. Check out mine to see flippant responses. Basically it's Who, What, When Where, Why, How.
Who are you? What is your perspective? How do you think of yourself?
What is your hobby? What's spare time for?
Where do you do your hobby? How far away do you travel to participate?
When do you find the time to participate in your hobby?
Why do you do that hobby? What is your goal in doing it?
How do you manage to find spare time for your hobby?
Don't sweat the questions. I'm not expecting a disertation.
So this is once again an open call for your thoughts here. I look forward to spotting trends, distinctions and commonalities. Thanks in advance for your participation.

Because You Didn't Ask for It.

As knowledgable and interesting as I am, I find it difficult to overcome my natural timidity to think that what I have to say is worth your time to read it. Therefore I am going to introduce a new segment to this blog. I will continue to try to stay away from politics in this blog, saving that for another space. However, since I define politics as how you get along with others, some political views might sneak into this segment in which I invite truly interesting people to comment on life here by each answering the same six questions. In the interest of fairness and to achieve a baseline, I will give my answers here now, hopefully to be followed by the genius of y'all as resposes come in. Don't feel the need to wait for an invitation. I'll post all the interesting ones I get.

Question #1) Who are you? (How do you define yourself?)
My Answer #1) I'm an Earthling. Where are you from?

Question #2) What is the meaning of life? (Why are you here?)
My Answer #2) To experience the wonders of life one adventure after another.

Question #3) What do you do to amuse yourself? (What drives you to get up?)
My Answer #3) I try to capture another rare experience of life. ex: Skiing

Question #4) How do you find the time to do it? (When do you do this?)
My Answer #4) It's incorporated into my daily life. I prioritize it.

Question #5) Where do you do this? (How far away from there do you sleep?)
My Answer #5) Since it's rare that quality snow falls on interesting terrain, it is necessary to live close to or in the mountains if you hope to partake in the great skiing of this life. I can always head toward the equator for warm weather activities.

Question #6) How do you do it? (How do you afford it?)
My Answer #6) I sacrifice all else for the opportunity to have the rare experience.

Essay Question: - open format - Tell us a joke or make a comment on whatever is on your mind. (What do you think?)
My Essay Answer) The three greatest experiences on the planet are, in order, skiing, biking, massage. The greatest thing on the planet other than mother nature is people. The greatest possession is friends.

Thanks for your input!