What's Everyone Resolving To Accomplish This Year?

[Wesley Tucker]

My New Year's Resolutions:

• Get to more races than in 2003. (That would be a total of at least THREE in 2004.)
• Continue to upgrade my quiver and eliminate all my exuses for never seeing the podium.
• Practice like an SOB on fire.
• Train like heavyweight boxer
• Skate at least twice as much as Tway and Parsons. (They both now have kids. I got this one licked!)
• Order more than just an egg roll and a coke this year in Boston.
• Continue to explain in great detail why Slappy Maxwell doesn't have a clue when it comes to American politics.
• Ignore any posts on any website from loud mouthed hypocrites who have nothing positive to add to our sport.
• Spend a lot more time eating and drinking with the coolest cats in any sport anywhere.
• Continue to insult and deride shamelessly the coolest cats in any sport anywhere.
• Read one of Gilmour's posts all the way to the end without jumping over the middle and pretending I know what he's talking about.
• Make it to California and race again where you don't sweat.
• Make it to an all-you-can-eat Bar-B-que with FiveDime, Damnarino, McCree, Ga Tom, Patio, Hollien, that bastard 66 and anyone else with a penchant for pulled pork and steamed rice.
• Ignore everything without comment posted by the South Florida God Of All That Is Slalom In The Comfort Of His Easy Chair.
• Get a 3TC of my own.
• Strive to appreciate Chaput's ability to express himself . . . endlessly.
• Stay at Steve's house at 'Da farm longer than 10:30.
• Call Vlad a Stalinist-Leninst-Red-Pinko-Commie-Bastard at least twice on a given Saturday afternoon.
• Call Victoria . . . when I'm in town. (heh, heh, heh.)
• Beat John Gilmour.
• Continue to call 66 "that bastard."
• Promote slalom at my local level so I can quit SKATING ALONE.
• Make it to Exit 46 at least once a month.
• Make Henry J skate in a dress ONE MORE TIME!
• Celebrate to the wee hours of the morning George W. Bush's re-election.
• Make it to Atlanta at least once every two months.
• Pretend the Gout doesn't really exist.
• Teach Brewington how to slalom.
• Make it to the Bus Terminal at least once a week.
• Celebrate to the wee hours of the morning Fritz Holling's departure from the US Senate.
• Go to Mississippi and drink all of Byrddog's liquor.
• Take my Z-28 to St. Louis and see if Goad knows how to drive?
• Eat another Omelette at Jimmy's grill in Pound Ridge (Lewisboro? Vista? Wherever the hell that place is. Does anybody really know?)
And finally . . .
• Convince Ilva that humidity is really a good thing and it's best to live in America far away from New York in a place with Magnolia blossoms and grits on the menu.

[Rick Stanziale]

my slalom resolution is to make it to the final four at one of the races you've mentioned

other than that i vow to be a better husband and father, which is infinitely more important to me than slalom skateboarding

i miss heat and humidity,
66

[Tom Thompson]

That's too funny Wesley.

I'm resolved to charge harder and go faster....on everything....

heat and humidity sucks

[Dave Gale]

I gotta resolve to stay un-hurt so that I can remain happily employed and accomplish Rick S's resolutions!!

[Will J]

to beat Byrd (the big one), AGAIN

to make it to Breck and Kona and every other GS, Super G, Banked, and SX event i can hitchhike too..

[Jeff Boswell]

I resolve to beat Slappy in DC Outlaws B Class and consume fresher roadkill.

[Wesley Tucker]

Well, let's see. How did I do?

My New Year's Resolutions:

• Get to more races than in 2003. (That would be a total of at least THREE in 2004.)

YES!

• Continue to upgrade my quiver and eliminate all my exuses for never seeing the podium.

DITTO!

• Practice like an SOB on fire.

Not quite. Barely able to skate through the last half of the year.

• Train like heavyweight boxer.

If you consider Michael Moore a pugilist, then maybe I made it?

• Skate at least twice as much as Tway and Parsons. (They both now have kids. I got this one licked!)

Tway, yes; Brian "the thin man" Parsons? Not hardly

• Order more than just an egg roll and a coke this year in Boston.

I wish I coulda, but I didn't

• Continue to explain in great detail why Slappy Maxwell doesn't have a clue when it comes to American politics.

Oh, how sweet it is!

• Ignore any posts on any website from loud mouthed hypocrites who have nothing positive to add to our sport.

I did pretty good this year. I broke down once or twice, but sometimes it's hard to hold you tongue in the face of rampant adsurdity.

• Spend a lot more time eating and drinking with the coolest cats in any sport anywhere.

Eh, almost. Time and budget didn't lend itself to much after hours socializing. Usually after hours I was on the road heading home.

• Continue to insult and deride shamelessly the coolest cats in any sport anywhere.

Now, THAT is a given.

• Read one of Gilmour's posts all the way to the end without jumping over the middle and pretending I know what he's talking about.

Damn, so close, and yet so far.

• Make it to California and race again where you don't sweat.

I was lucky this year to make it out of bed and breathe on my own.

• Make it to an all-you-can-eat Bar-B-que with FiveDime, Damnarino, McCree, Ga Tom, Patio, Hollien, that bastard 66 and anyone else with a penchant for pulled pork and steamed rice.

Sort of. 66 and I made it to a good BBQ hut. Too bad there wasn't more of a crew.

• Ignore everything without comment posted by the South Florida God Of All That Is Slalom In The Comfort Of His Easy Chair.

Yeah. He made a fool of himself a few times this year and I let it slide. Others were more than able to take up the slack.

• Get a 3TC of my own.

Nah, but I do have some awesome Indy Offsets. And more on the way . . . eventually.

• Strive to appreciate Chaput's ability to express himself . . . endlessly.

Still striving.

• Stay at Steve's house at 'Da farm longer than 10:30.

Long story, y'all know most of it.

• Call Vlad a Stalinist-Leninst-Red-Pinko-Commie-Bastard at least twice on a given Saturday afternoon.

Not only that, I think I also threw in "liberal."

• Call Victoria . . . when I'm in town. (heh, heh, heh.)

I'm not saying.

• Beat John Gilmour.

Hah. Never had a chance. Did anybody get the license number of that tree?

• Continue to call 66 "that bastard."

66 said he'd head up to Exit 46 for a session if I'd quit calling him "that bastard." So he did and I did.

• Promote slalom at my local level so I can quit SKATING ALONE.

Nope. But there's always next year!

• Make it to Exit 46 at least once a month.

Two out of 12 ain't bad.

• Make Henry J skate in a dress ONE MORE TIME!

Never saw the boy all year.

• Celebrate to the wee hours of the morning George W. Bush's re-election.

We made party hats out of chads and danced the Macarena,

• Make it to Atlanta at least once every two months.

Made it to Atlanta three times, once to skate. Getting there, but it ain't nothing to write about . . . so I'll stop.

• Pretend the Gout doesn't really exist.

A thing in the distant past.

• Teach Brewington how to slalom.

'Da boy done gave up on me.

• Make it to the Bus Terminal at least once a week.

52 weeks, a few BT sessions . . . close, but nowhere near a Macanudo.

• Celebrate to the wee hours of the morning Fritz Holling's departure from the US Senate.

You shoulda' been there. It was EPIC.

• Go to Mississippi and drink all of Byrddog's liquor.

Did that. Stayed sober.

• Take my Z-28 to St. Louis and see if Goad knows how to drive?

Nope. I think Goad's Z is a pigment of his colorful imagination!

• Eat another Omelette at Jimmy's grill in Pound Ridge (Lewisboro? Vista? Wherever the hell that place is. Does anybody really know?)

Another chapter lost in a continuing saga.
And finally . . .

• Convince Ilva that humidity is really a good thing and it's best to live in America far away from New York in a place with Magnolia blossoms and grits on the menu.

I wonder if the girl would know a bowl of grits if it fell on her?

[Chuck Gill]

What are your resolutions for this year?

[Wesley Tucker]

Chuck,

I'd like to resolve to skate more, eat less and see your sorry tattooed bald self at a race or two!

Where 'ya been? Last we heard there were announced "big changes" at the Gill house. When was that? Early last year? Late 2003? And now out of the blue look who pops up.

Hey, I understand ENDEAVOR (I think it's ENDEAVOR) is supposed to fly in May. What's the scoop? Is NASA going to make it's own deadline?

Chuck, make it to Luna and Red Clay. It's worth the effort! Also, we're attempting to start sessioning pretty regularly at my Exit 46 hill. Not really racing (not yet, anyway,) but setting courses and jamming til we get tired. Next one is tentatively schedule for January 30. I say "tentative" as everything is weather dependent.

[Chuck Gill]

Wesley, I'd love to make a race or two but I don't know what life will look like after this spring. My wife and I have spent the last year undergoing the process of adopting a baby from China (hence the "someone in China is pregnant" clue previously). We should be travelling to get her in May or so. I'm not going to let being a Dad stop me from being a skateboarder, but it might put a damper on going to races this year, both from a financial standpoint (we had not saved any $ when we decided to go for the adoption...and it ain't cheap) and from a might-need-to-stay-close-to-home-for-a-little-while-so-Momma-doesn't-go-crazy standpoint. That said, I would love to make it to the Athens race this year, if the stars align and if there are no category 4 hurricanes threatening to hit my house on race day again. That bastard 66 does a great event, plus they have a reasonable facsimile of the Varsity in town. I'd love to race in Missippuh too, but probably not this year.

I don't know which orbiter is scheduled to fly first off the top of my head...and I don't know what the odds of it going on time are either. In fact, at the rate things are going right now, I wouldn't be surprised if the Shuttle never flew again...kidding of course...sort of. At any rate, I am hoping my adoption will be timed perfectly so that I will be *out of the country* when the Shuttle flies again LOL (yes, the job has lost its glamour).

Otherwise, my vow for the year is to be skating with the doctor's blessing before my birthday (Feb. 12). Fell at the skatepark on Dec. 26 and dislocated my elbow...with a little help from a clueless young 'un who dropped in right in front of me...don't know how long it will take to heal but it already is feeling pretty okay. Should have a clearer picture after my next visit to the ortho next week. Oh yeah, I also resolve to break 35 at our local dump this year...with a little help from some Flywheels. And to not walk right into stop signs in the parking lot at work any more.

[Dave Gale]

Chuck..
I dislocated my elbow SEVERELY last Aug 18th and it took almost 5 months w/ rehab to get it cozy! Take care of it!

[Chuck Gill]

Dave...Holy cow! What characterized it as "severe"? I hope mine doesn't take as long. I can already feel all kinds of progress this week, although I tweaked it pretty bad this morning wrapping a towel around myself after my shower. Go figure. I've already been able to stop taking anything for pain, etc.

[Vlad Popov]

Attend and maybe win one race.

(I'm not just a communist, I'm also a realist!)

PS. Realistic Communists used to end up in the Politburo, Siberia, or US (depends on the assignment really).

[Wesley Tucker]

Chuck,

This is off the mark from New Year's resolutions, but I'll post it here in response to something you said.

I just now realized you made a comment about getting to the Red Clay Race if there are no threatening hurricanes. Well, Hurricanes rarely if EVER hit in APRIL!

Rick moved the race to a Spring event. So it's long before you head to Asia to pick up Junior (or Juniorette, as the case may be!) Either way, maybe we'll see you in a couple of months in Jaw Ja?

And Vlad, "Realistic Communists" usually either ended up in the Politburo or Siberia.

[Dave Gale]

Stay healthy and un injured on the job and on deck! Attend a few races (even if you sob's keep 'em on the weekends

[Marion Karr]

Here are my skate resolutions:

1. Attend 3 races this year .

2. Practice as much as my schedule will allow so that at least this newbie would not hit every cone.

3. Build a great coalition of skaters of all types through the DownHill Billies Organization that can help promote slalom, downhill/carving, and skating in general. www.downhillbillies.org to be up and running by late Feb.

4. Just be a cool newbie that respects all of you and helps fuel the stoke.

That is all for now...but I am sure something will be added!