theyah's a new ramp in town

I received a phone call Sunday afternoon from Brooke Geery, and then a text message. It read: “Going to skate Mike and Maegan’s new ramp with Jay Owens.” Like any normal person with working brain cells, I made haste to my car and automobiled to the aforementioned location. It’s a lovely piece of land in NE Portland, big trees yawning over an expanse of grass and, obviously, a mini-ramp. Oh, and there’s a house there, too—small, newly stuccoed, and smelling of fresh-cut wood. Inside the house lives Mike, Maegan, their rabbit, and one or maybe two fat lazy awesome cats.

Sometimes skateboarding requires taking a rest in the flatbottom. Brooke knows.

A picture of my backside, courtesy of Ms. Geery.

But back to the ramp, and the fact that Jason Owens was in town all the way from Chicago. Yep, Derek and I were witnesses at his VooDoo Donuts wedding all those years ago, and I haven’t seen him since, really. But all of a sudden, there he was a two-minute drive from my house. After we exchanged our usual barrage of sarcasm, as well as discussing a few good albums, Jason not only did the front smith, but also the front smith revert, and a number of other maneuvers that are impressive for anyone who claims to “never skate anymore.”

Jay's a bearded man these days.

October sun set over I-5. Pretty colors, no?