As I've gotten into skating, I've really come to love the culture that surrounds it. It frequently surprises me, especially with how much it defies stereotypes. Had an incredible instance of that today:
My favorite local skatepark is next to a justice center. The police department was having an annual ceremony to honor officers (and firefighters?) who have passed in the line of duty. When they played Taps, every skater in the park stopped, stood, and turned towards the ceremony. I know at least a couple of us removed our hats or helmets. Most of us stood in observance as a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace", although we returned our hats.
After the ceremony, the Chief of police came over and gathered all the skaters to talk to us briefly. He'd noticed we we had all stopped and taken a moment and didn't now if it was out of curiosity or respect. One of us informed him it was out of respect. The Chief then thanked us all for being so respectful.
Figure skaters or hockey? 
Joe Gearin wrote:
Figure skaters or hockey?
Skaterboarders, with me on my rollerskates.
That is cool. Know where I met our new chief of police? Our local skatepark.
He was there just watching a contest.
The big thing it speaks to is just how big of a deal Respect is in skating. Being respectful and considerate is more important than being good.
It's often surprising when like the shaved-head punk looking guy comes up and very politely asks, "Excuse me. Do you have any wax I could borrow? ... Thanks a lot, man."
I swear I get called "sir" at the skatepark more than anywhere else.
T.J.
UltimaDork
5/12/17 4:31 p.m.
In reply to Beer Baron:
Sir is a code word. He is calling you an old man. What you hear as respect, he hears as a diss that he got away with without the old man even noticing.
This is just the skate park version of "bless your heart".
That's my half-joking guess anyway.
I've found (maybe it's being in OK where people are rightly well-known for being polite) most people want to be nice to other people.
I now work for a VERY large software company with lots of Software Devs, it's really weird to be around all these painfully introverted people.
OHSCrifle wrote:
This is the 2nd best skate story I've heard lately. Here's the first.
http://www.11alive.com/traffic/i-85-collapse/a-secret-skate-park-was-built-under-an-atlanta-interstate/429247217
That's a sweet park. Looks well made and well designed. That little kicker-mogul feature in the center is nifty. There is definitely a strong DIY element in skating.
Really a stupid shame that the city is planning to dismantle that park. What a complete waste.
gamby
UltimaDork
5/16/17 12:54 a.m.
Beer Baron wrote:
The big thing it speaks to is just how big of a deal Respect is in skating. Being respectful and considerate is more important than being good.
It's often surprising when like the shaved-head punk looking guy comes up and very politely asks, "Excuse me. Do you have any wax I could borrow? ... Thanks a lot, man."
I swear I get called "sir" at the skatepark more than anywhere else.
My return to bowl/ramp skating in the mid-to-late 2000's (in my mid-to late 30's) showed a lot of that respect to me. My regular park, Skater's Edge in Taunton, MA was a marvel of respect. Everyone knew when to take their turn and where to skate their line. I'm sure the influx of kids on scooters to that park has ruined that phenomenon, but it was amazing to see in action.
A current A-list pro, Nora Vasconcellos, came up in our little Tuesday night crew. She was a grom then, now she's mega. 
