Sk8er Bois

I helped break up and remove small sections of concrete that skateboarders had shaped at the bottom of large pre-cast barrier walls. The walls were put in place by the local council probably as a cheap alternative to fixing the rotting concrete and rusting armoco safety barriers at the top of a ten metre drop along one side of the street. Over the last few weeks the new sections of what I assume are temporary additions have become a combination of ramp and rail for skateboarders. They were there again on Friday early evening taking photos and on Saturday morning.

The noise they make is surprisingly load, repetitive and grating and led to a confrontation with a local resident. She was advised to move, do something creative with her life, make more of a contribution to society and be careful where she parked her car lest it come to harm. It was after hearing of the abusive and threatening manner in which this life coaching was proffered that I felt that taking direct action in response to these invaders was reasonable.

Might've been the timing. Seems like the amount of anti-social activity in the neighbourhood is going through one of its occasional periods of increase. Good to have a chance to chip away at this process.

So here's a basic principle - if you want to share someone else's neighbourhood do it with humility, respect and graciousness.