Beaver Update

Happy New Year! Ha, I'm a little late with that one. It's been a while, huh? I really haven't had too much to report as far as skateboarding goes. It's winter and I have no desire to freeze my ass off outside. I did visit the skatepark in Nashua shortly before Christmas. They had what I call the "Ghetto Tree". The kids hung cans, mostly beer cans, from a tree to decorate it. I wish I'd had some battery operated lights to add to it. I stopped by to take a picture of it one afternoon. There were some guys hanging out and I wasn't sure how they'd respond to me being there. They all yelled hi to me and I said "I should have brought my skateboard!" I don't think they really believed I had a skateboard to bring. They were friendly though.

So, it seems I have someone who is eager to teach me to skate. There's a 19 year old guy, that works with Mike, who skates. I guess he's pretty good and he says some of his buddies are semi-pro. I'm not sure what that means exactly but I'm almost certain it means they don't fall and break their arm after skating for 15 minutes. We'll see how that goes once the nice weather gets here.

It's been six months since I broke my arm. It works as it should but it will never be the same. It gives me a problem every now and then, especially when it's going to snow. I put it through quite a workout at work the other day and when I got home I found it necessary to ride the Vicodin wave. Hey, did you catch that part about "work"? I got myself a job in November. Groovy, huh? It was very exciting to get a paycheck again. When I got my first one I actually hugged it. Good stuff!

So, that's where I'm at. I hope you're all doing well and staying warm.

-Beaver

It's not easy being Beaver

Greetings people!

I'm still going through OT. I've got another 3 weeks scheduled. I might get lucky and not need all of it though. I started the strengthening exercises last week after getting the go ahead from the doctor. I've come a long way in the past month. I can finally touch my shoulder with my hand and I can get my arm out straight. I know it doesn't seem like much but when you can't do those things it's a lot. My new goal is to get my lower arm to rotate the way it's supposed to be. I can't seem to get my palm to face up all the way or all the way down. It's frustrating but I know I'll get there.

Did I mention that I checked out the skate park in Nashua, the one on Bridge Street. It's not as scary as it looks from the street. I went early one morning when nobody was there. As I was walking around I realized I had a stupid grin on my face. I was getting excited about the possibility that I may be able to use the park one day. I'm very anxious to get back on the board and give everything a second try. I'll be starting out slow and easy this time around. I'll focus on push, glide, turn, and stop. I'll leave the bowl and the ramps to the kids for now.

Something I find frustrating, and it's starting to piss me off...the people who give me a hard time about skateboarding because of my age. I know it's kind of weird and yes, I have back problems but just because you choose not to do this sort of thing doesn't mean I can't. If I said I was going to take up skiing or even skydiving I bet I'd get a lot more people being supportive. Sure, they'd think it was a little crazy but I bet they wouldn't be treating me like a 90 year old grandfather who needs to have his license taken away. Most people hear about the skateboard and immediately it's all about me failing. What about the possibility of me not failing? Yes, I fell off the board and I broke my arm. I don't consider that failure. It's a setback but it hasn't scared me away. If I gave up now then I'd say I failed. The fact that I'm doing what most people would only think about doing, but never actually do, means I've succeeded. So to all of you who want to give me a hard time...piss off.

Some exciting news. I'll be going to Georgia in November. I'm hoping to locate a skate shop or two while I'm down there. Not for any important reason, but just to check it out. Maybe if they have store t-shirts I'll pick some up. If you know of any skate shops down that way let me know. I'll be in the Savannah area.

That's all for now.

-Beaver

Silly Putty For My Funny Bone

The good news is I'm not using a sling anymore. The bad news is I've started occupational therapy for my arm/elbow. OH MY GOD! It's like torture. A normal arm can extend all the way. Mine can't. I can't turn a door knob and I can't open the car door. Convincing my arm to do these things again is like telling a piece of cheap steak to be a rib eye. A bit of advice...don't break your radial head. The OT is more painful than the injury itself.

A kind of neat thing...I did get myself some therapy putty. I don't know if that's the real name for it but that's what I'm calling it. It comes in different "strengths." I got medium. It's green and has the consistency and texture of a really stiff silly putty. It doesn't have the cool smell of it though. The putty is to help keep my fingers strong. It's quite a work out. I'm only telling you about it because I think it's neat. I'd never heard of anything like it before. Maybe I'll see if it will pick up the Sunday comics like silly putty does.

Do you notice the bruise on my wrist in the picture? Thankfully, that's the last of them. I had one almost as big as my palm right under my elbow. It was a lovely shade of purple. I'm glad they're almost gone. For a while it looked like someone beat the shit out of me.

Because of my busted arm I'm not able to get on the skateboard. Well, I suppose I could but Mike would probably beat me with it. I can't stop thinking about it though. Every day while I'm sitting here doing nothing I can hear kids going by on their skateboards. Part of me wants to run outside and yell "DUUUUUDES! Can I come too?" In fact, I can hear someone skating by right now. Hate them! I don't really but I'm frustrated. I am thinking about going over to the David W. Deane Skatepark and checking it out up close. School has started so there really shouldn't be anybody over there.

So, another four weeks of OT. I just realized it's four weeks and not three. WTF! I was a bad person in a past life, wasn't I? Ugh! Once I'm done with the therapy I plan on getting back out there. Should we start taking bets on what I'll break next?

-Beaver