surreal
Originally written 05.04.2002.
a few hours ago, i had what was easily one of the most surreal experiences i have had in recent years. it started out normally enough as, my football mates nowhere to be found, i headed to bristo square to skate for the first time in weeks. i was rusty, but skating ok. that is, until i noticed the table-like structure that had been put down the large set of stairs on the other side of the square. this created a handrail-like structure that was pretty low at the top, but was a little more than 3 feet off the ground at the bottom end. this local who is sponsored was trying to b/s tailslide it for a video part. after a few tries, i could ollie and ride down the the table. so i tried some 50-50s. they were going pretty well – the first few tries i locked into the grind but kicked the board away. i even landed one, but didn’t roll away. i went at the table again and landed on it all wrong. instead of a 50-50 grind, my board landed as if i was doing a b/s boardslide. i stumbled, hit the ground, and slammed my head onto the hard brick of the square. it fucking hurt. i was really worried that i had a concussion, and it took me a few seconds before i was able to respond to the skater who was giving me a hand up. i managed to stagger to the stairs where i sat, trying to clear my head when a street war broke out.
there were about a half dozen drunken football hooligans, most likely celtic supporters from their demeanor*, coming towards this skater, also noticeably drunk. he was swinging his board around wildly to keep them at bay, so they responded by removing their belts and swinging them at the skater. the skater turned to retreat, but just then, the cavalry arrived as another skater, in a blaze of no-fear skate kamikaze glory came flying towards the hooligans and bashed one of them in the head with his board. he managed to escape, but now everyone was hurrying away from the square. i was still holding my head thinking that i was in no shape to get caught in the middle of a skirmish. at that point one of the hooligans threw a bike at someone. the square was virtually empty and a few of the younger skaters who were scurrying away just had a dazed look on their face. as i was leaving, the hooligans set their sights on some random guy. he started running, and luckily they let him go. i walked fast across the parking lot and escaped unnoticed.
luckily i made it away from the scene with only my original fall-related injuries – a stiff neck, a bump on my head, and a throbbing headache.
note: celtic had just lost the scottish cup final to arch-rivals rangers