blkdragon
grounded
Class, take your seats
4/17/09 7:50 am?Made the bed yesterday, enjoyed the sleep,
still woke sore; just before the alarm rang. Mike, Harrison
and Jackson were at the rink, Mike made a point to tell me
that Jackson came with them; he wanted me to say hello to
him, I would never ignore any of them. Harrison came to say
hello, Mike told me that Harrison wouldnt stop talking
about me since Id left them earlier in the day, I make our
lessons fun because Im having fun; I do a lot of laughing
and smiling with the people I instruct.
I get so comfortable with my dentures, I need to make a
concerted effort to remove them at night. Havent seen the
twins, since giving their Mother my card, havent seen
Travis and his Family since talking with his Mother; she may
have felt slighted by me, hope not!
I wondered whether we would be doing lessons last night,
Mike was listening to me when I told him that you have to
watch kids closely to know when the lessons should stop so
they can play, that skating should always be fun and
relaxing. Charles should know to oil the wheels of new
skates, Harrison was waiting for that, hed told me that he
was working too hard with his skates; Id loosened the
wheels and suggested oil for both, Harrison and Mike. I
watched Harrison on the floor, while I put my skates on, he
had greater confidence and was gliding along without a care;
Mike motioned for me to look. Both of them were much more
comfortable with their roll, I began beaming, when Harrison
left the floor to approach me; I began clapping for him and
before the end of the night hed be skating backwards. When
I least expect it, Harrison will sprawl on the floor to
remind me that hes only 8, I hope to see Travis tonight;
get him to loosen up and have some fun, perhaps introduce
him to Harrison and Jackson?
Mike and the boys live with the boy's Maternal Grandmother,
their Grandfather died on Inauguration Day, Mikes is a
bi-racial union; he told me that the Grandfather didnt like
the idea of him marrying the Daughter and that he came to
find himself loving Mike as a Son.
Id noticed Ghetto Fab and her Family, her Mother was in
jeans, shes much like Charlotte; loose midsection. The
youngest Grandson would skate in my direction, hed gain and
maintain eye contact with me, the determination of youth;
you could see in his eyes that hed already decided he was
going to skate. Ghetto Fab would come to check on and pick
her Son off the floor, he kept looking at me, I said hello
to her and quietly left the area; I dont want there to be
any misconceptions that I may vaguely be interested in her,
regardless of the flesh she flashes and I know that her
Mother is watching.
The Mother is getting instructions from her Daughters man,
hes not doing very well with her, they do a lot of falling;
I imagine Ill have to step to her (at some point) or she
can attend the rink alone. Mike would stop to speak to a
woman and the two young ladies with her, not long after
Charles would stop to talk to the ladies, hed call me to
ask if Id give them a few pointers; I took them off the
floor. We were now in the practice area, Ghetto Fabs Mother
would be watching me instruct these young ladies, Lord only
knows what was going through her mind; if she were really
paying attention shed learn that she had only but to
approach me for my attention.
I began with the one young lady, they were still in High
School, the one with me was recently arrived from Jamaica;
she was nervous as hell and we would both begin with sweaty
palms. She was terrified of falling, I let her all but dig
her nails into me, then the laughter began; immediately
followed by precise instruction. The girl listened intently,
by the time we got to the end of the practice floor, she had
come to trust that I wouldnt allow her to fall; we headed
onto the floor. I had her grip the rail to pull herself
along, I had to continue reminding her to slow down, the
rail is so that she continues forward motion; it allows her
security and a chance to perfect her stance and sense of
balance. I skated backwards beside her, whenever she
appeared to have difficulty, I grabbed her for stability, we
did 3 circuits; the last two were without her holding onto
the railing.
She would find herself working hard, I saw how much effort
she was using, suggested she take a few moments to sit;
thats all she took was a few moments. Id see her back on
the floor, nowhere near the railing, shed fall a few times;
no damage done. I would roll by to help her up, Harrison
and Jackson would pass us saying hello to me, I smiled to
them and let them know that these young ladies werent
taking their place; Id eventually highlight the fact that
this lady had just skated around the rink twice on her own
and wed both smile.
She thanked me and I was able to let her take off, Harrison
came over to show me how well he was skating backwards, now
he wanted to learn to turn around without stopping; we still
have over a week to get that move together. Charles would
approach me to make sure he didnt do anything wrong asking
me to give of my time to the young ladies, I told him that I
had fun, Ill tell him tonight that although he sees me
instructing many; most of them pay for my time and perhaps
this will turn on a light for him?
The woman with the girls thanked me, shed tell me that they
were supposed to do paintball today, the young lady is very
determined to skate and theyll be at the rink tonight
instead. Mike is referring me in such glowing detail that
Im soon to have more people to instruct than I have time
for. While I changed from my skates, I sat with Harrison and
Jackson, Harrison kept mentioning (aloud) that Id
instructed him and needed to be paid; I would tell him that
we didnt have lessons, we had fun. I would notice Mike
trying new things on the floor, getting comfortable lifting
his feet to glide, realizing that his balance is refining
and opening up endless possibilities for expression.
Ill text Mike to ask if were doing lessons today, I dont
think so, I think he may want to come alone tonight; he
needs time to skate uninterrupted! I want to give him new
music so he can see how much it changes the texture of his
night. David didnt skate last night, Sheridan and Anne
attended, she even put skates on; Sheridan cant teach her
because hes too selfish and impatient. Anne would see me
with the Jamaicans and ask if she could join the lesson, I
played her off with a smile, I dont want to teach her;
shes not going to want to pay what I will charge her.
Although they are friends, they dont really understand
the term, teaching her would be more difficult than any
student Ive had to date; they would leave unnoticed.
Harrison would talk to me, he understands the difference
between Jackson and himself, hes a bit envious; Jackson is
fearless and Harrison is afraid of (everything) the dark. I
understand Harrison, I was him as a child, his imagination
is stark and vivid. He marvels at Jacksons ability to make
friends, he told me that he doesnt (really) have friends,
Harrison scares himself. I try to find some common
denominator in a life experience (preferably a sport) that I
relate to whomever Im teaching right now, to help them
better understand what Im trying to get them to learn.
I try to recognize the world I live in, realistically, it is
without a doubt; the most beautiful/horrible place in
existence. The reason the world exists as such is due to the
ignorance of mankind, we are both gentle and heinous beings,
everyone can be expressly warned of the vagaries of
existence and it wouldnt mean a damn; we are the x-factor
and at some point one of us monkeys will throw a wrench in
the shit.
Big business ruins eco-systems to make money, its true that
my clap may have an effect in Bangladesh, the only thing I
can do is live my life with a conscience and hope that
everyone else will do the same; knowing full well that will
never happen because its not supposed to!
Paula and Brian came by last night, it was late, she was
putting the carpet down on the patio; I realize now that she
timed it to catch up with Eric. Perhaps Eric hasnt been
paying his rent, the recent episode with his Brother walking
the dog was another issue for her contention, they arent
supposed to have animals here; he wasnt planning to pick up
after the dog. I caught him passing through my breezeway,
his first mistake, Id found dog waste outside my door last
winter; the size of the waste suggested that dog. I made a
point to tell him to take the dog beyond the property line,
Joe would tell me that they had the dog out the night
before, I walked the property to make sure there was no
feces; I then attempted to speak with the Brother and he
refused to answer the door. Not too long afterwards, I heard
him leaving the apartment, I have a door that leads to their
hallway; I wasnt about to chase him to ratify the issue.
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