DrumGit, Curtis Cunningham’s blog.

I had some rather interesting experiences down on Venice beach earlier while rollerblading.

There's a little place there where rollerblader/skaters gather and they have a a sound system playing disco music and they dance to it. I always go past them but today I'd an urge to stop and watch for a while, see if I could steal any tricks
I was really enjoying watching the different ages groups and abilities all doing their thing and I wasn't alone, many people just stopped to watch and were sitting all around on the grass. One girl could do really fast spins up on her toes.. starting with her arms fully extended then pulling them all the way in to go faster and faster like ice skaters do too. I'd have falled over dizzy at a quarter the speed!

Then I noticed this elderly black lady going round the outside edge of the skating area, backwards! She must've been in her 60's, quite tall, slim and very good shape for her age, hair all grey tied tight back up on the top of her head, in complete control with perfect balance going round and round backwards. I was thinking that's the coolest thing I've seen in the longest time! I would love to be doing that when I'm her age .. I hope I do. The coolest gran ever.

Then I was checking out the people watchers checking out the skaters. A little bit away I noticed what looked like and elderly husband and wife, he sitting on the grass, and she a wheelchair. I noticed she was quite badly disabled, even at the distance I was at I could see her hands were very disfigured when she took a sip (using both hands) of a drink sitting in her lap. Then I started feeling sorry for her, imagining watching the dancers must've been like torture. I felt lucky I was going to be able to stand up and skate away, and she wasn't. While I was thinking all this I thought I saw her head rocking forward and backward ever so slightly almost in time with the music. I was like “huh? is she actually into this?” .. but couldn't tell. When I finally got up to leave, I rolled past her and I could see she was tapping along in time with the music and actually really enjoying the whole thing! Certainly much more than her able bodied other half. I thought that was cool.

Funny how we interpret what we see. Sometimes good stuff is easy to spot, and sometimes you have to look closer. I've just realized in the last few days it's funny how sometimes the bad stuff can be hard to spot and acknowledge too, especially when you've had your blinkers on for so long and don't really wanna see it.