BY ZAC DUNN The velocity that we move through time and space on a skateboard is seldom a silent act. This would by all accounts be a direct relationship between surface texture and the durometer selection of any wheel in contact with the plane of projection forward. As one approaches any given day, we as riders of wheels choose to take said wheels into the street. Be it to propel ourselves from point A to B, or to choose a more profound and stylistic path. No matter the context, it’s imperative to note that the choices we make can have a very direct impact on the experience and outcome of any outing. This is in large part due to the other living creatures that we interact with as we skate through the world. At this time we must telescope inward to our CANINE friends who share our world. In my 30 plus years of skateboarding in many iterations, I have had many experiences with dogs. Most of them could be labeled as traumatic. I was first attacked skating up NORTH WINOOSKI street in the old NORTH END of BURLINGTON, VERMONT. This was completely MY FAULT. I was riding an era correct deck with hard ass SPITFIRE, LONGHORN 99a wheels, that growled on the rough gradient of pavement. I was also wearing a certain outfit consisting of a BOB MARLEY tied shirt, cut off jeans shorts, and nasty chicken wing/ blood/wing sauce, food essence as though they were foul tea bags that were on my feet. The full-grown PIT BULL barked quite loudly so as to announce himself, prior to lunging and breaking the retractable leash that he was tethered to. The dog was roughly 50 feet from me as I passed when he broke and charged at me. I saw him coming and took several solid kicks. The dog No. 121 was very fast, but I was determined to not let him get me. I kicked him out and cussed as I gained the space to step off and the owner to get him under control. The dog was acting out of instinct. The dog either saw me as a threat to his dude, or the sound simply made him really upset, potentially hurting its ears. The dog didn’t wake up dreaming of seeing me and charging at me in the street, no more than I woke up expecting him to. But we both live in a neighborhood together and have to coexist. I never saw that dog again, but I never forgot him. I always wanted to prevent that from happening again. The second time was midday, skating down COLFAX and WASHINGTON in front of ARGONAUT LIQUORS. My amigo and I were just out and about passing by the LQ and a lady had parked her large 80s JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE with five dogs in the back seat with ALL THE WINDOWS OPEN, and NO ONE watching over them. I skate by and all the dogs pile out of the CHEROKEE. It’s almost comical until one who seems rather MAD charges me and starts to bite the tail of my skateboard. This is as we are rolling away rather fast. Then he shifts his chopping to my ACHILLES ... Which is mad painful!!! I just off, kick the shit out of the dog to get him to stop biting me and run back to the JEEP. By this time the security guard and owner of the dogs come out of the LQ. The lady is pushing a huge cart of booze. She is crying as though she was attached to this guy and I’m trying to sort out what to do about my leg. The lady was some kind of manic narcissist because rather than say SORRY, she immediately turned the security guard loose on me and my friend. Threatening us. Telling us to leave the property. So I calmly look across COLFAX and start yelling at two COPS
9 Publizr Home