SLAMMIN' THE PIPE

 “Hey, the cops are coming.  Let’s get out of here,” I shouted before pushing off on my board and flying down the street.  Within seconds, Evan and Chris were right beside me, with L.J. trailing behind a bit.  I turned the corner onto Rockwell Avenue and jumped right over a giant flower box before coasting down the hill, maneuvering my skateboard with perfect precision.  At the corner of Rigby Street, I sailed right over a baby stroller as I performed a flawless indy grab, then did a noisy nosegrind right over a park bench. 

“Awesome nosegrind, Logan,” Chris shouted to me from behind as he copied all of my moves with a somewhat sloppier technique.

“Hurry up, you guys, the cops are still gaining on us,” I yelled as I looked over my shoulder and saw the car turning the corner in order to head down the street.

“Logan, look out,” Evan shouted just as I turned my head back around and noticed an elderly woman with a walker literally ten feet in front of me. 

“Holy cow,” I yelled out while veering my skateboard to the side, then kicked it up into the air as I sailed right over two flower boxes with at least ten inches to spare.  A long hill was coming up, so I allowed myself to gain more speed as I began flying down the sidewalk at speeds up to twenty-five miles per hour.  I was in total control now and smiled widely as the hot summer breeze blew against my face.  “Yes, dudes, yes,” I began shouting while pumping my arms in the air.  “Logan Shannon is the master at this game.”

“Hey, Logan, what the heck are you doing?” Evan shouted to me from where he was trailing nearly thirty feet behind.

I made the mistake of turning to look at him, and with no time to spare I heard the sounds of L.J., Chris, and Evan shouting at me.  I knew something wasn’t right when I glanced back in front of me and noticed a man wheeling a large garbage can out onto the sidewalk from a nearby restaurant.  I was going far too fast to even try and stop myself, and I could swear that I felt my ribs breaking when I slammed into the metal container face first.  I was knocked onto the ground and felt myself rolling on the hard concrete for about ten feet until I finally banged up against the side of a building.  My skateboard slammed off a nearby car and set off the alarm.  Apparently, the garbage container nearly stopped me, but in the process got knocked over and spewed gallons of smelly refuse all over my body.  Within seconds, I was covered from head to toe with dumpster juice that smelled like a zillion dead cats boiled together.

“Logan, are you okay?” Chris shouted as he stopped beside me and knelt down to lend a hand.

“Man, that was an awesome trick,” Evan remarked as he leaned over and began scooping garbage away from me.

“Logan, that was probably the most awesome boarding I’ve ever seen from you,” L.J. declared with a big smile on his face when he arrived on the scene.

I did my best to smile and reply to my friends, but the pain from my ribs was far too intense, let alone the horrible odor of garbage.