Skateboarding-part 2: late 1980’s reputations, feelings, experiences.

From 1989 through most of 1991 I was never made aware that the whole skateboarding scene was being twisted and morphed into something largely misunderstood. Skateboarding in my teens was no longer wholesome. Long gone were the original “Bones Brigade”.

Original Bones Brigade 2010. These guys went pro in the early 1980s and mid-1980s. They rode for Powell Peralta, another skateboard manufacturer. 

From the time I was 12 onwards, I never heard of Natas (the actual skateboarder), I never read nor seen Steve Caballero . I had heard of Mark Gonzalez, but never seen any VHS tapes of him nor any other [then] professional skateboarders. In my teens I never read many back issues of Thrasher skateboard magazine.

Transworld, another skateboard magazine, was non-exstintant to me. We had a spin-off of Thrasher called, “Skateboarding” from 1991 to my recollection and it was quite bland. It was geared more towards a “pre-processed”, all junk, no newsworthy nobodies off the streets that tried their first generic Veriflex and/ or K-Mart blue light special “Nash” skateboard for the first time. The skateboard clothing was in my eyes very “no frills”. I’d say “preppy”-looking, almost borderline on Grunge even though the Grunge scene was still years off into the future.

The clean cut image that I know from the late 80’s skateboarding generation was still there. The clothing that my older brother did hand down to me was Vision Streetwear. I always wanted that t-shirt depicting a 1950’s lady in tears, a comic strip design with her thinking 💭 “Oh, God, why can’t my boyfriend skate?!” And the boyfriend, (a Clark Kent-looking dude), is depicted on the shirt as stepping into the room. This t-shirt debuted around 1989 in Thrasher magazine. Finding the same t-shirt nowadays from this era will set a person back a little bit. There are reproductions of said image, but it doesn’t appeal to me: the new re-issues, that is.

I still find the original design hilarious 😂 and it happily takes me back to my younger days when I laughed seeing it for the first time via mail order in Thrasher magazine. The t-shirt came in white. The comic strip depiction, black and white.

Another iconic hand-me-down from my dear brother was two large/ x-large t-shirts; Rat Bones (Powell Peralta) rat with crossbones in a washed out, faded red color, and another skateboard t-shirt that stated; “What part of…(reverse of t-shirt stated); “NO don’t you understand?” The shirt was sending a wrong message, but I cherished every article of skateboard clothing that my brother wore out and gave to me. I remember safety pinning a pair of flimsy material Vision Streetwear shorts that were very baggy on me. They were beige in color, and had a crackle pattern design. The fabric was very thin, so I often had to wear a long t-shirt untucked to cover my assets. 😂 I couldn’t believe the low quality that Vision Streetwear produced in the late 80’s/ early 90’s. Maybe it was a supply and demand thing. Vision Streetwear was extremely expensive back then. But even high-priced clothing doesn’t always mean “better” nor even long lasting, either.

Skateboarding and anarchy; what I didn’t know…

Well, in retrospect I can see how skateboarders got ridiculed a lot by society as a whole. In fact, skateboarding in the late 80’s/early 1990’s was breaking away from a once wholesome image of “do your own thing” and protective gear was being less depicted in the magazines if it was street skating/ public building, parking lot areas and downtown skateboarding.

I found myself being ostracized all the time in the Podunks I lived in. There was no skate parks yet. I skateboarded wherever I felt like and wasn’t aware back then that skateboarding on a downtown sidewalk is illegal. Oh, well, live and learn. I was never busted and I doubt the cops would have cared much in the Podunks so long as you showed respect, shared the sidewalk, obeyed traffic laws, and weren’t going all Willy nilly wrecklessly on a sidewalk. Street skating took guts. In 1990-91 there was less traffic. Driving distractions with modern technology wasn’t around yet. Motorists would honk, shake their fists, maybe even shout a profanity if you deliberately ignored them, but for the most part, I’d skate on the margin, near the shoulder of the street with traffic, seldom against it unless going home and I couldn’t find a route to get me there. Skateboarding for me was about transportation as a teen and less about seeing how many stupid ways could I think of to potentially hurt myself.

When I street-skated, I wasn’t relaxed. I rode my board fast and stiff-legged. I struck those dumb pebbles, rocks, twigs with a jarring skid. I went air born a few times, never skinned myself badly, ironically.  I would just “pretend” to make my skateboard come to a screeching halt, and I would two-step (or three) off it with my feet. Sometimes, I’d for no apparent reason, just dismount instantly (jump off) if anything grabbed my attention.

I never learned to grind the tail to a stop simply because I wanted to preserve the life of my first Vision skateboard. And tail (tail bones) guards were unpopular and would slow down your speed. Tail bones were by 1990-91 standards highly unattractive. You were a poser and made fun of if your 80’s deck sported a jaw bone (nose guard) and a tail bone. Those accessories were like a soccer mom van in the mid-1990’s, no teenager wanted to be caught dead with that additional “protective” physical baggage being an eyesore.

My Vision Gonzales had both jaw bone and tail bone which made me cry 😭 when I picked up my brand new deck from the skating rink. My brother worked his magic once we managed to buy the deck. The major hold up was the skateboard kiosk couldn’t sell the deck to us with that hardware pre-removed since it would be a potential liability/ lawsuit waiting to happen had I ever gotten severely injured. Hearing that the protective “baggage” had to remain on or else no sale just made me weep at 12. Hey, I was a kid. I didn’t like having something so close to me,especially a new expensive gift being taken from me right before my very eyes.  And secondly, I thought my skateboard was my decision and I’d get exactly what was shown in the advertisement I seen in Thrasher. But all these rules… bah! I was irritated by “stupid rules” at 12. I was entering my “I want it this way,” not “you can’t have it because I say so even though I’m not your parent,” phase.

My brother worked tirelessly to make “fat lady” right with me and to my specifications we had already planned on. He involved me in on our massive undertaking: skateboard overhaul.

Once home, deck in shrink, I recall I had tore through the shrink wrap with my small hands. I was giddy! I was the first to get my small fingerprints all over that beautiful deep red stain. Fat lady’s neon yellow face and neon blue hair weren’t spared my touch. I christened her; “Big Bertha” after a babysitter my brother and I adored when we were just toddlers. I doubt Erma is even around anymore, but she made a positive impact in our young lives whenever mom had to head off to her second job to keep us above poverty. I never knew as a child the greatest sacrifice my mother had made for us; Providing us with a better life. I appreciate all that mom did for us and continues to do for us.

Now, Mom and I were going rounds with my first skateboard, the top image was questionable for the times, mind you. The late 1980’s were still about censorship galore. And religion played a huge role dictating what we can/ can’t hear in way of music. The “Tipper sticker” was an ever-common eyesore to my generation. Lyrics were questioned a lot. Bands were subject to controversy, our music as we knew it, was being blamed for the cause of our upcoming generation’s problems. When instead, the Washington wives failed to take into account the bigger picture and look at the shape of the current state of the nation, rather.

Skateboarding was seen as rebellious. It was falsely categorized as having ties to druggies, satanism, anarchy, drop outs, and societal degenerates, basically nowadays it falls under the “rock n’ roll listening weirdo, hell bent on never losing touch with that ‘young kid at heart'” category.

And skateboarding in the 21st century might be reverting back to its once wholesome “do what comes natural” roots, or something seen as a way of life for some. My era was an age of innocence that somewhere along the way collided with a bad erroneous reputation that damn near ruined skateboarding for many years to follow.

I dropped off the skateboard map in 1993 when I was 16. I didn’t like the ushering in of the Grunge scene. At 16, I rode a bicycle 🚴 and swore to myself I’d never pick up another skateboard. To be continued…

Oh, and Thanks to all my followers out there. Thank you for sharing and comments always welcome. 🤓  🙃🤙

Dead Mall series part 2: Try-ons and discounts: a customer’s perspective.

I tried on the last I’m a Freakin’ Ray of Sunshine tank top rue21 had in stock, but didn’t get it. It was piled under a mess of other picked through tanks. Straight ahead it looked like a mini-tornado deposited a mountain of new shoes off to one side of the discounted jewelry section.

In a place like the mall time slows down. I don’t know why that is. Maybe it’s the atmosphere and that outdated shopper’s muszak. It didn’t feel but more than a few minutes had passed, and as one would guess, a whole hour had went by.

$3 clearance racks: are they a good/ not so good deal? Depends what you’re specifically looking for. Maurice’s will forever be out of my league. I say this because I simply can’t and won’t ever justify spending $44 for one pair of Jeggings when I know I can find them for $3 or less elsewhere. I did try on two pairs at Maurice’s, but for some reason, they didn’t have that certain look nor feel about them, and unlike rue 21, there’s not a whole lot of savings. But I figured while I was here I may as well try on the ‘money’s no object’ astronomically-priced Jeggings. It came as no surprise I didn’t like the fabric of Maurice’s Jeggings (no offense). The material reminded me of a pair of cheap Wally World polyester leggings that I once had and later turned around and donated because they made my sensitive skin sweat and break out. Also, the material of the expensive Jeggings felt very inferior, almost as though if I looked at them wrong they’d fall apart. And the intentionally sewn on patches felt really cheap and too light weight to withstand a single laundering. I snapped one picture of the Jeggings and called it good. I returned the Jeggings to their rightful spots and folded them just as I’d seen them.

I’m a very particular and tidy customer. Perhaps most customers don’t go out of their way to fold and/ or hang clothes. That’s why store employees get paid to straighten up after customers. I also relate to the store employees that have a trillion different tasks that must be completed all at the same time in some cases. As a customer it doesn’t bother me to walk into a chaotic mall store where clothes resemble a teenager’s bedroom and everything’s in piles, new merchandise is in the process of being organized and hung up on hooks. Did I mention the mall is like an ice box, too? That’s not a bad thing in a heatwave, but good advice: wear tennis shoes and socks and take a light weight jacket if donning shorts and a tank top. Outside it was  very muggy so the air-conditioning was a welcome relief.

A few days ago I tried on a very cute black cut out lace crop top and there weren’t too many left in stock. If you ask for another size it’s whatever is already on the floor. Stuff gets re-arranged on a daily basis, pretty much. At first, I couldn’t find these black crop tops in their usual spot at rue 21. I gravitated to a rack of jeans and placed on top were the black crop tops folded over sandwiched in with the white tank tops. I found my size and compared it to the xs “I’m a Freakin’ Ray of Sunshine” tank. They were both adorable, but I thought in terms of pick out just one. I opted for the black crop top.

I really can’t stand the feel of rayon, but also tried on a cut out v-neck black top. I could already see a few problems with the v-neck rayon top not staying in place and constantly tugging on those cut out straps to adjust them would just annoy me. Rayon top went on the rack of rejected clothing even though it was discounted at $3. I found three pairs of discounted jeans. And even though one pair is missing the front fly button I plan to sew on an antique glass button and call it good. 🙂

What’s with all the holes in the knees and the shredded look? It seems to be in vogue nowadays and in all the mall stores the Jeggings and jeans look alike. However, the material differs greatly from store to store.

Won’t I get cold once winter hits? Nah. I have a few more normal jeans without the distressed look to them that I picked up for 29 cents when at the thrift store. I really need to get on the ball and sort through all of my clothes again that no longer fit and/ or that I no longer wear and donate them. I try to do this often whenever I buy a new article of clothing, then donate my gently used stuff.

It was super busy in rue 21 and I’ve come to the conclusion it’s a very popular store with young and old alike. And the deals are better than Old Navy, not that I’m bashing their clearance items, but a lot of their tops and jeans don’t fit petite customers. The extra small and small clearance section in Old Navy consisted of no more than two tank tops, one large sweater even though the garment tag stated size small, and then it jumped into the medium and large misplaced clothes. Everything was slim pickings in Old Navy. When I stepped into Old Navy it’s warm in that store that its unbearable after a few minutes and it reeks unpleasantly of lingering mildew which is gross. But the mall is quite old so perhaps it has a lot to do with the ventilation system not working right.

On my stroll I passed by a outdoor/running/ jogging store that was having a ‘going out of business’ sale. That’ll make store #4 that’s closed down in the mall. The empty retail space sits forlorn with no renters. Yet, there’s a Hobby shop that recently opened dedicated to airplanes, model trains and nothing else it seems like. I don’t expect them to do booming business and look for them to close their doors in about two months because there doesn’t seem to be any interest, for one. And two, everybody’s too caught up in their Pokemon-Go craze and other social media.

Texting, chatting on the cell phone, gazing at an iPad—it seems to take up half the food court. I packed my lunch and had a fruit salad and one Gala apple. I don’t dine at the mall anymore because all the pre-processed food will leave a person feeling hungry afterwards likely due to the MSG. However, the pizza looks good, but I stayed true to my ‘no diary’ and no cheese diet. That, and I’m allergic to yeast and enriched flour products anyway. And the city water is fluoridated, so naturally I packed my distilled water.

Nobody at the mall socializes in person anymore, or if they do, they’ll glance at their cell phones every two minutes, update their Facebook status, post a selfie, then forget what they were talking about. The only time I removed my cell phone was to take pictures for my dead mall/ fashion/ clothing blog series on here. I don’t do social media except when I’m at home and/or blogging, tweeting stuff out.

As always, thanks for liking, re-blogging, sharing, tweeting, commenting. I truly appreciate it. Stay tuned for more. 🙂