Sears is my favorite skate shop.

The first skateboard I ever rode came from Sears. My dad bought it for my mom at a Sears catalog outlet store. At the time, Midland Michigan wasn’t big enough for an actual Sears store. Instead, we had a small shop with a few displays of smaller objects you could buy on spot, and a counter that you would go to to look at the Sears catalog, pay for what you wanted, and pick it up when it arrived. One saturday the family made a trip there and my mom became infatuated with a stand of Roller Derby brand banana boards. They looked just like board “B” above, only yellow. My father, being infatuated with my mother, decided to buy it for her. I think it was $14.99.

So my first skateboard was actually my mother’s. I would have to ask her if I could use it, and wait for a turn as my whole family played on it in the driveway for the first couple of weeks. I gradually took it over. I’m sure my mom had no idea what she was starting when she asked my dad to buy it. I forgot where I copped this picture from, but you can click on it to actually read the text. If it came from your site, point me to it and I’ll put up the link. Also, if you’ve got a picture of a yellow Roller Derby with red wheels…