parked next to KITTY’S ADULT BOOKS. They chirped the siren and pulled right up on the curb almost instantly. The two men who got out really were cool to me and my boy. They cussed out the security guard and the lady pretty hard and offered to take me to hospital. I didn’t wanna go and I didn’t. People told me I should SUE her and all that. I realized I was not raised to be a man who SUES people like this. If I had gotten sick, that would be another matter. But I forgave her just as other random people I have crossed paths with in her shoes have forgiven me. This is the way for me. When I was summoned to court, the two COPS showed up too. I saw them in the elevator and sort of recognized them. I cracked a joke in the elevator about them looking like two guys who were security guards at the TIVOLI downtown ... They were salty for a second! But we had a laugh when we were all in the DA office and they told him what nice guys me and my buddy were. They really said nice stuff in court too. It meant a lot to me and I was pulled over by one of them while I was arguing with my boy years later. He smelled booze on me and he somehow recognized me and gave me a stern GOOD TO SEE YOU, GO PARK THE WHIP. I’m still thankful to those two guys helping a skater instead of just harassing us. The common factor in these two tales of wheels and dogs is the negative consequence of two things interacting. In order to really enjoy our CANINE friends and skate in the same space we share, it’s time to address some foundational respect so we can all live prosperously. These are my these initial MAXIMS of DOG AND DUROMETER: 1. The sound generated by a wheel is a product of surface, hardness and speed. 2. All dogs will react differently to the sound of skate wheels as such. 3. Dogs that are larger need to be seen and respected. 4. DOGS are NOT RESPONSIBLE for reacting to sounds that scare or frighten them. 5. If we choose to roll in the streets with the hard wheels that BARK and mean BUSINESS, we must be aware that the dogs will all bark and potentially charge. 6. We shall not fear each other but learn to RESPECT and PROTECT each other’s space. I went to skate on my tiny ledge spot a couple blocks from my home. I entered the gated track and realized I was alone in the fenced-in park with a young man and a very large ROTTWEILER. When the man first saw me, his first instinct was to anchor himself to the 120 pound dog that would lunge at me if he heard the wheels. I told them both to chill as they were there first playing and I could just chill a sec and skate another spot. I sat and chatted with this guy about his dog and being a big dog owner person. I could tell how serious he was about owning such a large and very serious dog. I rolled a spliff and left after our chat wishing them well. DOGS and SKATERS do not need to fear each other. But understanding how we choose to interact is very important to what’s next for us both. FOLLOW FOR MORE WORK IG: @UZIEGO | TUMBLR: @WTFCRAIGSLISTNYC RAY YOUNG CHU, BLACK DOBERMAN WITH METAL MUZZLE - BEST OF BIRDY ISSUE 053
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