New RipStik'rs on the block

The box says not for children under the age of eight, but try telling that to a rough and tumble five year old who, despite his youth, has a reputation of never crying when he gets hurt. He will accept help to get started, but then he pushes the supporting hand away. He wants to do it himself. He also learned incredibly quickly.

This was only his second day on a board, and his first day in a parking lot. The previous day was a brief encounter with a RipStik on our porch. Maybe younger children still have pliant motor circuits. He often rides in a leaning-back stance that looks off-balance and yet he holds on to the ride.

He has certainly upset the learning curve apple cart.

Another new rider on the block, a visitor from Kosrae. She is a graceful rider with her own style.

A veteran rider.

Passing in front of the theater. There is a truism in the skate board industry that when a youth gets the car keys to the family car, the skate board gets left in the garage to gather dust permanently. Maybe the flip side is that there is always another new youngster who finds freedom and joy in riding a board. Maybe those are the true golden years - from the age at which one can ride until the age when one gets car keys. Nothing is ever quite as playful again.

Of course, play time need not be over if one is a fifty-something who can ride a RipStik. Here is a better use for an outdoor shuffle-board: RipStik riding.