//// 69 mile ride ////

my first day of high
school was hell.
i felt so outta place.
i still wanted to be a kid...
and looking around me in the
hallways i realized it was all
gonna change. jocks with full beards,
dudes wearing perfume they
called cologne, and these little
groups of alike kids
that stood about and looked down
their noses at the kids that
didn't belong to one of their nests.
skateboard tucked under my arm,
repeating in my mind my locker
combination 10-23-13... 10-23-13..
praying i would dial it in quick
and stash my board. the principal
had already told me at the front
of the school "no skateboards in
classes or riding anytime". when the
locked popped open.. i tried to jam
the board in the locker. i couldn't do
it. it wouldn't go. like a fucking
nightmare.. three senior jocks
just stood right around me,
talking out loud about me,
how shitheads do...
saying:
"damn look how little he is",
"skateboarders are total fags"
"man i could kick that kids ass so easy"
"we should take his board"
so...finally some older skater
that knew my older brother
came by and showed me how to
dent up the top part of the locker
and wiggle the board in at a crazy
angle. Then some bed wetter
kid that had the wrong color
backpack or something walked
by and they latched their verbal
dipshittery on him. i hated that
place. sit and wait... and daydream
about skateboards and dirtbikes.

fitting in has always been a
difficult concept for me.
the older i got the more i
found people with the same feelings
drawn to loner activities like
skateboarding, artwork, music, and
motorcycles. things that you can
do on your own... but are also
fun to do with like minded folks.

Saturday morn nov, 14 2009.
i blasted down telegraph ave
in Oakland... like walking
down that hallway 20 years ago
the first day of high school...
i was nervous. what if no one
shows up? what if its jocks
wearing cologne????

i pulled up slightly late
for my own ride... but instead
of heckling jocks greeting me..
it was all smiles. and like
minded folks. gathered to share
a loner activity, together...
young skater kids on sportsters,
grown ass men on old bmw's,
eccentrics on cafe cb's, pans, knucks,
vintage racers, all kinds.
i was blown away. i got the chills
so crazy, the good ones.
an old friend of 30 years said
" dude i couldn't even sleep last
night i was so excited for the ride today"

i want to thanks everyone that showed up
.... from the bottom of my balls.
you guys are awesome. thank you.

-max-