The Question

Being 32 and skating gets me asked the 'when are you going to quit?' question regularly, and even though I try not to be an assface and get all argy when I answer, it gets old.

To be fair, most people are just curious. They're wondering how we can still do this despite the aches and pains it causes, they wanna know where we go to skate, and, of course, if we've seen the worst show ever made, Scarred. I hate that farging show.

The part that bugs me is that there's always a few people who ask when I'm ready to 'grow up' and quit skating, like it's just a matter of me being too immature and trying to be 13 again. I don't want to be 13 again. Being 13 sucked 99% of the time. I lived at home, couldn't drive, didn't have a job, and couldn't buy beer. I'm not trying to go back. I don't skate with little kids (when I can help it) and don't do little kid shit.

I have a 9-5 job that sucks most of the time, just like most of the people who ask that question. I pay my bills, save for the future, pay my taxes and vote. All the things grown-ups do. Actually, most grown-ups don't vote, b/c they're too busy watching American Idol or buying Beanie Babies or whatever the hell people do to waste time.

The point is, I'm not still trying to be a kid. I just don't see why I should give up doing something I've done and loved for most of my life because other adults don't do it. If I wanted to be like everyone else my age, I'd gain 30 pounds, buy a pair of crocs, go watch Dave Matthews Band concerts and talk about how awesome I was in high school.

When I'm 50, I'll probably have a bad back, knees, ankles, whatever. And some of that will be from skating. And I'm sure that's going to suck. But you know what? I bet that my memories of skating and the friends I made, tricks I landed, wrecks I endured, etc., will be my best memories. And those memories come from a lifetime of skating. They didn't end 15 years ago. I'm making new ones every time I skate, and I'm not ready to give any of that up yet.

Really, the only bad memory is of having to answer that question 10,000 times. I could have easily learned heelflips in the time I've wasted answering that question.