Thirteen years later, and I'm still a child.

When I was 11 years old, i decided I wanted to start skating, like alot of the other kids in my town did. I got an acme "baby" board for christmas that year. I couldn't for the life of me learn how to do anything on it. Some guys a couple years older than me, who kicked my ass on every occasion, and broke my balls nonstop, traded me my first pair of Roces' Majestic 12' skates for the board. These guys weren't all that bad. Even though they were older, and kind of jerks to me sometimes, they always took care of me and didn't let anyone fuck with me. Maybe thats what having a big brother is like, I dunno. Through skating around town, i started meeting the other kids my age who did the same. And like me, the older kids kicked the shit out of them, and ridiculed them to the point of tears, but wouldn't let anyone else fuck with them. maybe thats what having an extended family was like. I digress. Its funny, but when i was in 6th grade my friend Ben dubbed me a copy of Full Circle from Pennywise. I listened to it all the way through when i got home from school. The first time i heard Brohymn tribute I realized that the friends i had, and people i surround myself with can be just as much my family as the people i moved away from when i was so young. My father, a railroad worker, moved us here from Le Claire Iowa in the late 80's To this day i've been back to visit, maybe 16 times. Sometimes i believe it was for the best. This sparked a new interest for me tho. I began to find out as much as i could about punk rock, and of course I skated all the time. Around the time i hit 13 i had a dresser droor full of punk compilations like Givem the boot, punk bites, Punk o rama. Etc. It was something exciting for me, It was somethign different than all the other kids were already drinking and smoking pot and playing football etc. etc. I was coaxed by my parents to play football for a fewyears, I never was good at it, but it was fun. There was something that i really wanted to be a part of. Something that i just needed. It wasn't success, it wasn't wealth, it was to be a part of something that mattered, If only to me, I wanted to change a life. When i was 14 Joey started playing drums because a dude left a set at my parents house. By this point we were chain smoking ciggarettes, and drinking beer with my neighbor who would buy it for us. We listened to screeching weasel, the queers, blink 182, nofx, no use for a name. Anything snotty that we could find. Joey and Phillip (the damned whippersnappers) hung out at my house every day. We would play tunes from the time that we got off of school untill 10. These songs were about pillhead girls, pizza plus managers, etc. That summer, we played a field show for one of my friends in flag pond. It was our first "show". Holy hell. It was a punk rock dream come true for us. we set up our tents, joey's drums, my amp, and my karaoki machine(vox). We started out with a song called Gluesniffer. It was cool. There was a keg, I drank probably 7 tacobell cups full of beer. Smoked so many joints, and later in the night, accidentally smoked some crack with two sketchy dudes, After thinking they had pot in the bowl. That night, this loose girl we went to school with tried to come into my tent and cuddle, i told her to turn around, she did, I put my foot to her ass and shoved her out of my tent as hard as i could, she skipped on her chest in the dirt. It was cool. Then a really sweet girl we went to school with, came and asked me if i would come play another song, I thought itwas the previous girl and i told her to fuck off. I'm pretty sure it upset her so bad that it cockblocked joey. That was fun. It was my first show.
Here are the lyrics to gluesniffer.

When i said i dont' wanna talk about it,
i meant it, i was really getting pissed.
but you stayed dumb, and true
you didn't get a clue.
you once told me that ignorance was bliss.
no don't start saying i am acting dense
you want the truth now you're gonna get it.
It must suck to be you.
you got caught sniffing glue,
and had to go to rehab like your friends.

Take out your papers and pens, Write down my name and put quotations
Here' experience is fable, There's only so far your back will bend.

and now you said that your dad called me a queer
i wrecked my car trying not to hit a deer.
it must suck to be you, you got caught eating ludes
and had to go to rehab like your 'rents'


I love my life.