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When I was about seven years old my family was living in Flint Mich. My older sister was a big fan of the Beach Boys and had all their records which she listened to constantly. I became interested in the whole california beach bum lifestyle and dreamed about surfing like I had seen in those Elvis, Gidget and Ride the Wild surf movies.
One day we were at the local five and dime store and I saw one of those skateboard things I'd seen on tv and I begged my mom to buy it for me. It was made of white pine and had two big green bare feet painted on the deck and it said hang ten. The wheels were metal and the trucks had little or no adjustment.
I took it home and started to ride it on the sidewalk in front of my house. Soon all the neighborhood kids gathered around and we all took turns trying to make the little turn at the bottom of this little hill. NOBODY could make the turn as the metal wheels wouldn't grip and you would slide into the grass. The other problem was the wheels had a very hard time going over the seams in the sidewalk and it would often catch, sending you over the front and flat on your face. Catch a little rock under the wheel and you get launched.We gave up trying to make the turn and just cruised around sidewalk surfing. The big trick back then was walking the board lol.
That was the first time I stepped on a skateboard and the year was 1965.
A lot of things have changed since then but the stoke remains the same
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