Midlife Skateboarding?

Comedian Stephen Colbert tweeted the following, this morning, in response to this article suggesting skateboarding as a solution to midlife depression.

If you have not started following the social media accounts of comedians as a means of bringing joy and laughter to your life, I highly recommend this. Throughout the pandemic, my husband and I quit watching news programs and resorted to only watching comedian monologues, together. We found it to be the only acceptable way to bear the news that was so often nothing but bad news.

Once you have started following the comedians, the comment threads are the place where you often find comedy gold. In this particular thread, Colbert received such comments as:

“I broke my humerus in my bedroom…no way I’m getting a skateboard”

“My knees are screaming looking at this picture!”

“Always wanted to have my spleen on my shoulders!”

“They say learning new things keeps the mind sharp and nothing is more complicated than those insurance claims…”

“This study paid for by ER orthopedic surgeons”

“yes, I love going 2mph, hit a pebble and ending up at the bottom of a hill and hit by a car… ”

Ouch! that last one sounds very specific. As for the article itself, it did make some valid arguments for our generation to seek the thrills of our youth by engaging in such activities, however, the comments from the orthopedic surgeons regarding the increased injuries from our age-group associated with these activities did not go un-noticed by me. As one who was unable to skateboard as a child, it is fair to assume I have no dreams of skateboarding as an adult. There is no love or nostalgia associated with that sport for me. At one point, our boys tried to teach me to skateboard. I had a broom in each hand to serve as stabilizers and I was still unable to stay upright. But, if you were a great skateboarder back in the day, I can understand how getting back on a board might bring you joy as an aging adult. It might even be worth a broken bone or two. The article also prompted me into thinking about other activities I enjoyed as a child that might be alternatively resurrected. What activities did you enjoy as a child that would bring you joy, today?