I haven't skateboarded in years, but I still could if I had to. I probably wouldn't look very cool, and I might not do it for more than a minute or two, but I could if I wanted/needed to do it.

Not every 60-year-old is decrepit, you whippersnapper! And get offa my lawn!

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

I have a 60 yr old uncle I

By DPM on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 2:15pm.

I have a 60 yr old uncle I went out west snowboarding with this year. Skateboarding is way easier on the joints than Utah moguls.

Almost-60-year-old here

By Ron Newman on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 11:22pm.

I've never skateboarded, but I do roller skate occasionally, and see no reason to stop just because of my age. I recently won a scooter in a contest and plan to try that as well soon.

Charlie Rose

By Irma la Douce on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 4:38pm.

Charlie Rose, who is 75 and had heart valve replacement surgery within the past year, said on Colbert the other night that he plans to take up surfing again.
Also, Google "90 year old gymnast" for a little enlightenment.

Look, honey

By SwirlyGrrl on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 6:23pm.

I grew up on the West Coast, and I'm old. Some people never put their boards down. They may not do tricks in their empty pools like they did in their younger years, but they still ride. Said person still surfs and snowboards, too.

You'd certainly call me a "lair" if I happened to tell you what that 60 something did for a living ... but I see that I have already stretched your stiff brain beyond its plastic deformation limits.

I thought she meant a number of skaters > 60

By Section77 on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 3:04pm.

But I guess that doesn't make sense either. Maybe they all live in the same lair. 747

Question

By Formerly-SoBo-Yuppie on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 10:59am.

i tend to agree but i am always conscious of not being that angry boston grump who yells "get off my lawn".

after the invention of the car, bike commuters probably declined and bikes were probably just seen as things kids rode around on for fun. then when adults starting to bike to work again, did older people say "look at that 30 year old riding a bike! what a loser"?

i ask because i am too young to be around the generation that never rode bikes to work.

Just my opinion

By anon on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 12:35pm.

People can certainly do what they want and I encourage them to do so, but I tend to agree with writer Fran Leibowitz who said "people see riding bicycles as a sign of virtue now. I see them as a toy". If bikes are a toy, skateboards and scooters are even more so.

just my opinion

By Formerly-SoBo-Yuppie on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 1:27pm.

i see riding bicycles as a healthy way to get to work/run errands and more importantly:

- you can't kill anyone
- you don't pollute the city

skateboarders and scooter fall into the category too.

Don't be so sure about the killing part.

By CopleyScott17 on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 2:03pm.

Obviously bikes are much less of a threat than motor vehicles, and a hell of a lot better for the health of the environment -- not to mention the bicyclists! But this rider came close to killing someone:

http://www.messarchives.com/messville/BST_REG5.HTM

All serious accidents are tragic

By anon on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 2:37pm.

but if the best response to "bikes don't kill people" is a single instance of a bike not actually killing someone two decades ago... you've proven the point.

The point is, everyone needs to be careful...

By CopleyScott17 on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 2:55pm.

...and follow the rules of the road.

But, hey, Anon, don't let that stand in the way of your knee-jerk snark. Very helpful.

Most certainly

By SwirlyGrrl on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 6:25pm.

Especially those who like to step out into travel lanes between cars and have their wife remove all traces of their responsibility for causing an accident from a police report.

And, of course, those piloting vehicles that manage to kill 10,000 people a year who are not in cars, and maim another 10,000.

I don't have a good answer to your questions.

By Lee on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 1:04pm.

I can tell you riding a bike to work in Boston has gotten easier for me in the last 30 years.
I still get surprising comments though, from mostly older folk, like, "Nice day for bike ride!" as if I was out for a lark instead of going to work or running errands. Does anyone say to someone driving to work, "Nice day for a car ride!"

did older people say "look at

By Scratchie on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 1:35pm.

did older people say "look at that 30 year old riding a bike! what a loser"?

Did they? They still say it on a weekly basis here at UHub.

This is like saying "You gotta love 30 year

By ZachAndTired on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 11:43am.

This is like saying "You gotta love 30 year old men with bicycles. Grow up, guys."

People told me I was too old to skate when I was 17. I honestly can't even figure out what age the average person thinks is appropriate to own a skateboard. As a 35 year old man who skates, I also don't give a fuck.

Wait, so are you saying that

By tofu on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 11:46am.

Wait, so are you saying that whenever I see a 30+ man on a skateboard I should steer clear or risk smacking/stabbing? What about 30+ men/women on scooters?

This reminds me

By SamWack on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 12:24pm.

of the remark by one of the various Duchesses of Westminster that "a man who is seen riding a bus over the age of 30 has been a failure in life". The woman who said this was notable mostly for a bad marriage to one of England's worst and wealthiest men. Her complete lack of any significant accomplishments of her own did not prevent her from condescending to others. I don't like to go around judging people as failures, but it seems to me that making such remarks is better evidence for it than bus-riding or skateboarding.

I don't have time to source

By anon on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 1:00pm.

I don't have time to source the quote so apologies if I'm wrong, but the source I know makes it far worse.

It wasn't some duchess. It was Thatcher.

Not Thatcher

By Irma la Douce on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 4:53pm.

Quote was falsely attributed to her during a labor dispute involving bus drivers. Actually said by the 3rd wife of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, but she later told someone she'd heard it from the English poet Brian Howard.

2nd Duke

By SamWack on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 6:59pm.

of Westminster, AKA Hugh Grosvenor, Hitler fan, homo hater, enthusiastic anti-semite, and one of the richest men in the world. Charming chap.

Thatcher was a heartless swine, but she was unlikely to say this. She always posed as the Tory with the common touch, and couldn't afford to alienate her bus-riding constituents.

30 year old skateboarder

By hux on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 3:27pm.

I'm a 30 year old skateboarder, who also happens to be a nonviolent contributing member of society. Not everyone wants to be boring when they hit 30.

The "no good skater punk" stereotype is pretty played out by now. But no worries, I'll get off your lawn.

And I skateboard because I enjoy it. Some people run to free their mind, I skateboard, well longboard now, but same idea. I've been doing it for 20+ years, and don't really feel the need to stop.

You gotta love 30 year old

By merlinmurph on Fri, 07/28/2017 - 8:48am.

You gotta love 30 year old men with skateboards. Grow up, guys.

Man, really? You sound like one of those people that still think bikes are toys and are only ridden by kids. That's sad.

Remembering the boards I had as a kid, this 63-year-old is very jealous of modern skateboards. I would love to have one, but I don't know how much I'd use it. A couple years ago, a friend's daughter showed me her Rip-Stik, and I loved using that.

It all fits - the path where

By Finn on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 8:20pm.

It all fits - the path where the attack took place is on a decline from Beacon Street to the fountain. There are a lot of skateboarders careening down from the Beacon Street side of the Common down towards the fountain, frequently coming within inches of pedestrians, often from behind in order to deliberately startle them. It seems likely that such juvenile behavior (caused by a 30 year old!) led to the altercation. In addition to open air drug-activity, the police also need to crack down on these skateboarders - perhaps refer them to the new skatepark near Community College?

They're also a nuisance in Copley Square in front of the library and in the fountain by Trinity Church when it is empty.

Build more skateparks around

By anon on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 11:25am.

Build more skateparks around the city and the problem will mostly relocate itself without the need for police intervention.

Ink Underground

By ElizaLeila on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 1:54pm.

There's a new one going in under 93 near Traveler St.

https://www.ink-underground.com/

However

By ElizaLeila on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 2:24pm.

some of the street skaters don't like skating in 'sanctioned' parks.

As Swirly Pointed Out Above...

By Suldog on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 12:57pm.

... we don't know if the 30-year-old was the skateboarder or not.

EDIT: It has been pointed out that FOX reports he WAS the skateboarder. Never mind.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

Stabbing on the Boston Common

By anon on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 11:42am.

Never bring a skateboard to a knife fight! So if we are to believe this version of this story a skateboarder goes on the attack in a fit of skate rage and attacks a group of fine upstanding citizens who were minding their own business and their response was to defend themselves by stabbing two individuals. There has to be more to this story

Yes, yes, you have to right shred without input from the normals

By section77 on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 11:59am.

But you still have to realize the high comedy factor of the 30 year old on the Common with the rage issues and lack of social skills which leads him to bring a long-board to a knife fight. We all know these guys too. A couple more posts in the "F*&^ you, I do what I want!" vein will prove my point.

Last time I visited the

By DPM on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 1:10pm.

Last time I visited the common it was populated by a large population of homeless persons, some of which appeared high.

Related?

Side note, is there a time of week where it is not so populated with the homeless?

Edit: I longboarded at Pope John Paul Park past week and am almost 30. Did I scare people?

no, but you offended some

By anon on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 3:15pm.

no, but you offended some people for sure.

long boards are the wrong boards!

I am offended

By SamWack on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 10:35pm.

that you are using words I don't understand, like "'longboarded". Down with that sort of thing!

If you were talking about surfing, I would know what you meant, but I doubt you were surfing in Pope John Paul Park. If you were, I am offended by that.

I'm just glad it wasn't

By ruthling on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 1:13pm.

I'm just glad it wasn't Pokemon related!

Here ya go

By anon on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 11:05pm.

http://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/police-worth-of-drugs-seized-in...

Double stabbing on the Common started when one guy began smacking people with his skateboard

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