Rollllllllll CLACK! Rolllllllllll CLACK!
The sound is unmistakable (or should I say unmis-skateable). The sound of skateboard wheels rolling across the concrete bowl with their familiar rhythm. Today it is seems to repeat itself, Rollllllllll CLACK! Rolllllllllll CLACK!'. Every once in a while the rhythm is interrupted with either a cheer ('yesss!'), or a jeer ('bleep,'which is the fill-in expletive created by my boys for otherwise un-allowed vocabulary) as the trick is either accomplished or missed. This repetition is being performed in the presence of other boarders of all ages, who offer tips every now again, along with gruff encouragement.
Rollllllllll CLACK! Rolllllllllll CLACK!
I begin to count the attempts.....when I near 50 my mind wanders to a recent book written by Malcolm Gladwell, titled "Outliers: The story of Success" (Little, Brown, & Company 2008). In his book, Gladwell discusses the patterns and societal circumstances that have made successful people successful, and I can't help but draw a parallel between the long term successes he discusses and the 'Rollllllllll CLACK' that is happening hundreds, perhaps thousands of times in this 2 hour skate session. Persistence +environment+ re-evaluation = success, and that is exactly what is being created here, today, in the bowl.
Rollllllllll CLACK! Rolllllllllll CLACK!
I really love your first blog. I loved how you started it with the "Roll Clack". I could hear that sound so well just because of how you described it. You had great energy in your voice and I can tell you really love your topic, which made it fun for me to read. I look forward to reading more!
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