PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- December 14, 2012
NO SKATEBOARDING? Not at ROTA Gallery Friday evening.
Skateboarder fans whooped and applauded during the premier of the locally produced movie "Thunder Road." The "grindhouse" venue was packed, every seat taken, by many young viewers with a few graybeards in the mix.
The technically well-made documentary is almost non-stop thrasher action. There are no interviews with any of the boarders. If you want to find out what makes them tick you'll have to go elsewhere. If you enjoy seeing skateboarders perform impressive maneuvers and stunts – and also take some nasty spills – for an hour then this movie will suit you.
Most in the audience didn't mind seeing skaters repeatedly riding their boards down long metal rails or grinding along the edge of concrete structures.
The movie shows the boarders in action in various places around the area but not all of the spots are skate parks. In one scene videoed on private property a sign proclaims NO SKATEBOARDING. But if you're young and reckless, hey, why worry about a stupid sign?
The thrasher life philosophy was summed up by a bumper sticker I saw one time: WORK IS FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T SKATEBOARD. It was plastered near a stop sign in downtown Plattsburgh, the same stop sign that some skaters would ignore.
Skateboarders would use Marion Street as their own park. They would zip down Marion without looking, speeding across the intersection with Clinton. One building on the corner was tight to the sidewalk, creating a blind spot. Someone walking or driving up Clinton Street would have to watch out for skaters coming out of nowhere.
A barbershop used to operate out of the same corner building. The owner would complain to the police to no avail that the skaters were causing problems, scaring away customers, even sitting outside on the ledge of her picture window.
She wasn't alone in her complaints. The First Presbyterian Church which borders Brinkerhoff and Marion streets spent a lot of money fixing up its property, including the installation of new stonework. Skaters came along and started grinding, ruining all the recent work. The police were called.
One of the skating locations in "Thunder Road" is – yup, you guessed it – the same church.
In some cases skateboarding is for people who don't own property.
Don't expect to see "Thunder Road" playing at the Presbyterian Church. It doesn't have a prayer.
NOTE: Each image was digitally photo-edited, combining separate exposures for audience and screen.
I've had a lot of trouble accessing and maintaining connection to FB on my home computer the last few days. I think it's my connection, but most other sites work OK. Now,I know some people in my church have been angry with the skateboarders about damage to the stonework on the sides of the walkway for the Marion St. entrance. I guess I have a different take on what's important. I see the kids as the future, not the stone building. Yes, unfortunately they may do some damage. There has to be some control. What I did was I got a Little Buddy years ago. These days I like to drop in at ROTA, see what young people are up to. I think I still make a contribution that way.
ReplyDeleteHey, guy. Do you work? No. You stroll around this dead end town and take your pictures. Does anyone bother you? So listen up, guy. I skateboard. I work full time and some. Would you like to know what i do? I build fireplaces. What do you do? Oh, we already went over that. What you describe here is retarded. And this specific crew is young and upcoming. Ive been skating these streets for over a decade. Your blog is distasteful and straight up boring. Does bashing seventeen year olds who like to do something that expresses themselves get you off? If so i suggest you seek mental help. Take your stereo type an shove it up your ass. I work harder in one week than you have your whole life. So please, stop judging something you are so ignorant to. You are just jealous that people find happiness in a piece of wood and a turning system. Because deep down, you can't find happiness in anything but negative blogs attatched to freelance photos. But no one is judging you for that, are they?
ReplyDeletethis is a joke, i will skate until my very legs cant move. Good job being a hater. keep up the GREAT work. - one of the skaters from the film 'Thunder Road'
ReplyDeleteThis is a joke. Im stoked to see someone have nothing better to do that hate on something people have come together try to do something we love to do. skate. Keep up the GREAT work. I will continue to skate until my very legs can't move. You have a lovley day.
ReplyDeleteHow about you not be surprised such a little bit cheaper. I know lots of respectful members or the community you own property and pay taxes. There is no law against skateboarding down the road would you make such a complaint against people riding bikes. Sounds to me that when you were in high school a skateboarder probably did it with your girlfriend who probably was a skank maybe if the community cared enough to build us a decent skatepark we wouldn't be out in the streets. The whole community could put in a word instead of complaining about it. Our skatepark is closed half the year what do you expect. Talk about the solution not the problem. You are gonna sit here and put down a kid that put a lot of time effort money and blood(literally blood) into a project maybe next year he should just sit around doing drugs like everyone else in this town
ReplyDelete