When I was a young teen me and my friend Miguel took a skate trip to the city. We are skateboarding around private parking lots. In the mist of being chased by security we were "bombing" graffiti. I have never been good with a spray can because I look taking my time. So I'm a wheat paster.
I always had a weird style and hated sadly other people's work around mine. I was really young and didn't get the wall was for everyone as was the space if you were willing to take it. I love this Lucha chimp but the kid who pasted under mine did this guy smoking a blunt so I knew it had a short life span.
Back to the story!
So Miguel was an architect at a firm and I think at the time I was working at a bookstore in a mall. I remember that day we ran into a huge crew of guys skating around a fountain as soon as we showed up this kid falls and brakes his fingers and security runs up and so we are running again with a backpack full of flour and water bottles with sugar mixed in to make glue and a few paint brushes. These bags did not make it easy to skate so we ran up hills. It was fun but I think about it now if we were still "bombing" I fear we would have been shot but security or beaten to death. It's so strange to see how violent everyone is these days. I mean back then the worst was the caught you called your parents and you had to scrub walls and were banned from lots. No one was killing anyone or maiming.
Miguel had this theory that everything was graffiti even the billboards. He said " we were the voice of our communities not Cosco." I see his point but I don't. It's all art.....even the "shitty" blunt guy under my wheat paste.
Miguel has a daughter now and has no hair and a huge pot belly. It's funny how we change. Last time I talked to him was 9 years ago before last night. He is still out there warring against the machine. I feel some times I want to get back out there and war a little myself.........hmmmmmm........I don't think I will in that way though.
But if I did .....it might be great to be next to him and be that dumb kid one more night.