I was 8-9 in 1975. I remember the first skateboarding craze, growing up in the S. F. Valley. 30 or 40 min. from Venice/Santa Monica, where it all started. Back then, there were few minorities in great number. It was mostly a white world. The smog sucked, as it was just the beg of the era where cars has smog devices on them. There were many days when you would walk outside, and you couldn't see the blue sky. It was an odd Sepia tone brown color, and it was difficult to breathe.(The beach where skateboarding originated wasn't that bad, because the ocean was there). And because we didn't have cell phones and computers, kids would come out and play almost every day-ride bikes, play baseball, soccer, army(dress up). And of course, back then kids still played "doctor", at a young age. That of course, doesn't happen much anymore. Video games were brand new! We had the first ATARI in our neighborhood. Kids would come over just to play pong. We would have ping pong tourney's in the garage/outside as well. We had a slot car race track also, and had many races in the garage w that too. THE 70's were of course the time that women really pushed themselves into society in large numbers. The divorce rate went sky high for the first time, as women felt more empowered as individuals. Really, the best thing to come out of the 70's was the MUSIC. That decade produced the best music that will ever be heard. It started in the late 60's, and maxed out w the end of the disco era. The 60's were clearly the beg. of the our society and family units destruction. The old sayings-With great freedom comes great responsibility, and-A little knowledge is a dangerous thing-were clearly being seen and heard. TOO bad we still don't get it. That coupled w cultures and races that don't believe in God(the Holy Trinity), and the S. F. Valley is a totally different place. Whites are the clear minority, w Asians and Arabs mostly occupying it now. Haven't lived their for over 15 years because of all the changes for the worse. And no, it is not a race thing, my family was the only one to welcome the first black family that moved into our neighborhood in the late 70's. Even the Japanese family across the street shunned them and us as a result. We had been good friends for a decade. We moved a couple years later. Just to finish-skateboarding is a very dangerous sport, both to beginners and experts. My better half is an RN and has seen TOO many kids permanently paralyzed from boarding. IT is a behind the scenes secret of the industry. Skating is now a billion dollar industry, and all the public sees is the glory and fun, and not all the kids and families who's lives are destroyed by that innocent little skateboard. And many of the injuries occur from simple ground moves, where the board just comes out from underneath them. It is actually far more dangerous than surfing(other than extreme). The public and media glorify these skateboarding experts, but really they are responsible(just like all parents are responsible for their kids), for so many kids being turned and basted, for the rest of their lives. There is a big diff. between doing your best, and extreme anything. Extreme is going beyond what humans are supposed to be doing, and as a result, pay the ultimate price. MMA is the same way. Tons of those guys just seem to disappear. They too become "vegetables". And yes, I know we could all go out and get run over by a bus, but that is not the same as purposely putting yourself in extreme danger! One last old saying-Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it should be done!! A little common sense, goes a long way.
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