Learn to Skate at the Library

Libraries sure aren’t what they used to be. Nowadays you can go tot the internet and look at questionable materials on the interwebs. In my day you had to check out the old issues of National Geographic featuring savages, but I digress. The Shawnee Sun reports an upcoming program at the Shawnee library where you can learn about skateboarding.

The program will include movie clips from Thrasher magazine’s movie, “King of the Road 2005,” information about the history of skateboarding, the benefits of the sport, skate parks, and how to buy and maintain your skateboards. Live demonstrations and an open discussion will be part of the activities.

Seriously, WTF? And why the picture of the saucy librarian?

Hmmm. Ok It makes sense now. The proprietors of the local pay-to-play skatepark, Fusion Affect are putting the whole thing on. Business must not be so good in Shawnee Oklahoma if they have to troll the libraries to create clientele. It’s not like kids have never seen skateboards before. I wonder it that’s how they really spell “team” (Teem) or if it’s a typo. Maybe it’s the extreme spelling of “team.” Last but not least, there are librarians out there who are sick of the stereotype of the prickly old librarian. We’re just doing our bit to help. Or not. Thanks to Ruth Kneale for unknowingly providing a lot of these links. Her site is like Skate And Annoy for librarians.

On Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 4 p.m. area teens can roll into their hometown library to learn about the skateboarding craze growing in Shawnee. The library is offering teens this opportunity to learn more about the extreme sport from members of the Fusion Affect Skate Teem.

The program will include movie clips from Thrasher magazine’s movie, “King of the Road 2005,” information about the history of skateboarding, the benefits of the sport, skate parks, and how to buy and maintain your skateboards. Live demonstrations and an open discussion will be part of the activities.

Presenters of this free program are Traci and Damion Westbrook, owners of the Shawnee skate park, Fusion Affect. In a recent newspaper interview, Damion said that he started skating when he was 10 and that now, as a nearly 30-year-old adult, he gets the cardio workout he needs while continually perfecting his tricks. Damion said he and other skateboarders who are older keep in mind that they’re in a role model position and that skateboarding may well turn a teen’s life in the right direction.

For more information about this free, teen program, call the library at 275-6353.

UPDATE: It’s always great when people over react to something without apparently even reading the whole thing. Apparently, a couple of kids from the Fusion Skate team got pretty upset over this piece. The only concrete thing they can take an issue with is the folowing sentence “Business must not be so good in Shawnee Oklahoma if they have to troll the libraries to create clientele.” Aaron Ivie told me to “get ur facts strait when u try to make fun of someone” – apparently the library asked the skate shop to put on the promotion. OK. Fair enough, but stop spelling like you are a 12 year old kid on the Internet if you want your opinions to be taken more seriously. Then there’s Zakk Pearson or at least the person calling himself that, you never can tell on the Internet. Zakk maintains that the library asked the skate team to put on the demo to counteract the public’s negative perception of skateboarding. I’ll bet your library and team are proud as heck of the positive light you’re showing Skateboarding and Fusion Affect in now. Hateful homophobia and gratuitous swearing are exactly how you want to represent yourself to kids and the public at large. Way to go Einstein. Think before you open you mouth.

In any case, while I would normally remove inane comments that served no purpose except to insult people, I think I’ll leave this one up so everyone will know how friendly they are out there. Don’t forget to bring the whole family!