blkdragon

grounded
2009-04-17 17:49:58 (UTC)

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 wouldn’t stop talking
about me since I’d left them earlier in the day, I make our
lessons fun because I’m 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. Haven’t seen the
twins, since giving their Mother my card, haven’t 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, he’d told me that he
was working too hard with his skates; I’d 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 he’d be skating backwards. When
I least expect it, Harrison will sprawl on the floor to
remind me that he’s 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, Mike’s is a
bi-racial union; he told me that the Grandfather didn’t like
the idea of him marrying the Daughter and that he came to
find himself loving Mike as a Son.
I’d noticed Ghetto Fab and her Family, her Mother was in
jeans, she’s much like Charlotte; loose midsection. The
youngest Grandson would skate in my direction, he’d gain and
maintain eye contact with me, the determination of youth;
you could see in his eyes that he’d 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 don’t 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 Daughter’s man,
he’s not doing very well with her, they do a lot of falling;
I imagine I’ll 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, he’d call me to
ask if I’d give them a few pointers; I took them off the
floor. We were now in the practice area, Ghetto Fab’s Mother
would be watching me instruct these young ladies, Lord only
knows what was going through her mind; if she were really
paying attention she’d 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 wouldn’t 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;
that’s all she took was a few moments. I’d see her back on
the floor, nowhere near the railing, she’d 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 weren’t
taking their place; I’d eventually highlight the fact that
this lady had just skated around the rink twice on her own
and we’d 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 didn’t do anything wrong asking
me to give of my time to the young ladies, I told him that I
had fun, I’ll 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, she’d tell me that they
were supposed to do paintball today, the young lady is very
determined to skate and they’ll be at the rink tonight
instead. Mike is referring me in such glowing detail that
I’m 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 I’d
instructed him and needed to be paid; I would tell him that
we didn’t 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.
I’ll text Mike to ask if we’re doing lessons today, I don’t
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 didn’t skate last night, Sheridan and Anne
attended, she even put skates on; Sheridan can’t teach her
because he’s 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 don’t want to teach her;
she’s not going to want to pay what I will charge her.
Although they are “friends,” they don’t really understand
the term, teaching her would be more difficult than any
student I’ve had to date; they would leave unnoticed.
Harrison would talk to me, he understands the difference
between Jackson and himself, he’s 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 Jackson’s ability to make
friends, he told me that he doesn’t (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 I’m teaching right now, to help them
better understand what I’m 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 wouldn’t 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, it’s 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 it’s 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 hasn’t been
paying his rent, the recent episode with his Brother walking
the dog was another issue for her contention, they aren’t
supposed to have animals here; he wasn’t planning to pick up
after the dog. I caught him passing through my breezeway,
his first mistake, I’d 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 wasn’t about to chase him to ratify the issue.




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