No skateboarding
Tue 27 Jun 2006, 3:35 pm
“Sorry guys, but you can’t skate here” sez me to the two kids skateboarding outside our modernist concrete skater’s paradise of a library.
Them: “Aw, why not?”
Me: “Because we don’t want your parents to sue us when you break your neck, and because you are making too much noise for the people inside studying.”
Them: “Man, our parents can’t afford laywers!”
I did not add “go skate outside Stephen Abram’s library,” but perhaps I should have.
Also, I think I am officially a cranky old dad when I go around telling kids that they are going to break their necks.
- License:
- File under: Public relations
- Comments? 10
Yeah, I’ve had to tell skaters to take it somewhere else, too. I always feel like such a heel.
Comment by joshua m. neff — June 27, 2006 @ 5:45 pm
Getting old (or how my brother knew he was a father) – when talking to a young moutain biker with a broken arm, neck and leg he asked “what did you parents say when you told then about your accident?”
Comment by mck — June 28, 2006 @ 9:55 am
Why not tell them “You’re making too much noise. It needs to be quiet when the library is open.” Let them HOPEFULLY figure out that perhaps they could skate at some other time… and YOU didn’t tell ‘em they could… And throw in “Where’s your helmet?” Just for good measure. :)
Comment by Concretin — June 28, 2006 @ 6:12 pm
Gosh, Concretin; how did you know they weren’t wearing helmets? ;)
And if they want to come back and skate when the library is closed, they could probably get away with it. They’ll want to do it during the summer, though, as they’d have to skate between 2 and 8 AM during the school year!
Nice site, by the way. I have no idea what you are talking about, but the photos sure are fun.
Comment by Steve Lawson — June 28, 2006 @ 8:40 pm
Steve, lemme tell you another reason they shouldn’t be skateboarding there. About a year before you joined us at Tutt, a skateboard flew out from under a kid and shattered a pane of that extremely, EXTREMELY expensive glass on the front of the building — you know our floor-to-ceiling glass panels. The library paid something like $10,000 for the panel to be replaced. That’s the story I tell boarders when I’m the cranky librarian. Glenna would know the details.
Comment by Jessy — June 30, 2006 @ 11:45 am
yo im really a skater and most of us dont break our necks wen we fall and for everyone who says no skating leave us alone we arent bothering you!
Comment by Real skater — October 17, 2006 @ 2:08 pm
the guys were just having fun :) but i get you, the glass thing must err really tick you off huh?!! skaters dont bother you on purpose, you just let them bother you… and hardly any skaters break their necks when they fall :) x
Comment by wytchfire — February 24, 2007 @ 8:56 am
i’m not here to argue with anyone, but i have alot of friends who take skateboarding really seriously. they’re not “hoodlums” and they don’t skate to piss people off. they just have no where else to go. when store owners kick them out, they’re stuck skating on main roadways or finding something else alot more distructive to do. unless the kids are causing an actual disterbance to the people around, i think they should be allowed to skate. if you think about it, letting them skate…is keeping them out of more trouble
sorry about your window man :/
Comment by susan — October 24, 2007 @ 7:25 am
Susan, wytchfire, and Real skater, I’m more sympathetic than you might realize. I was never a skater, but I’m not so old that I can’t remember being a kid looking to kill some time and have some fun. I don’t think these kids are hoodlums.
But the fact is, they are bothering people with the noise (ka-thunk ka-thunk ka-thunk griiiiiind!). And the other points are facts, too: the College doesn’t want to risk getting sued and we don’t want to risk damage to the building either.
Comment by Steve Lawson — October 24, 2007 @ 8:19 am
Tell them to check out Gossage Skatepark or Denver Skatepark. Both are free. Use this info to have a positive discussion with them in the future :)
Comment by skaterP — November 1, 2007 @ 3:00 pm