King 9.4 Introduction

Introduction 9.4

What a pleasure it is to be so easily amused in these days of constant stimulation. While out in the streets, we often spend a good chunk of time looking for new and unique spots. We want the gnarly, the epic, the never-been-skated spots! That’s what everyone wants to see and skate, right? But while we search, what may be more interesting are the areas we get stuck in, the rough parking lots that just happen to have an icy, slick plastic curb, sitting unassumingly amongst a lot full of the more common concrete variety. It’s there that we become unglued from time, perpetually rolling and tic-tac’ing, but going nowhere at all. What does this scene look like to that family waiting for a train, or the two beat cops who stop to watch? There has to be some comprehensible beauty in the fun we are having in what is one of the most unbeautiful and mundane pieces of this city. There has never been so much laughter or smiling in this parking lot. It’s a holiday Monday, in a city where the downtown core dies a sudden death every Friday afternoon, so it’s quite possible that we are collectively the hardest beating hearts within 15 kilometres of this dustbowl. It’s funny that this is all we need sometimes. Keep it simple, stupid. In the end, the impending thunderstorm that chased us in this direction never actually came, and we moved on to keep exploring, but it’s notable that the high point of the day was a mere six inches off the ground.

Words and photos by Leo Hayes

Above: Kevin Lowry slides a maple snout over the top of an out-of-place plastic curb.