Hi All,

This Sunday marks a red letter date for the GodFather of Skating. Sunday, March
8, 1979 marks the first Sunday I ever came out to the park with skates. I
arrived in San Francisco on Mar. 2. I spent a few days hanging out around
Double Rock and Visitation Valley, but those were the kind of places I was
escaping. One day I took a MUNI bus to Golden Gate Park where I saw people on
rollerskates!!! I was told the park was closed to cars on Sundays and people
skated in the streets!!!

I went out the next day and bought me some blue and yellow Disco Rollers. I
remember a picture of Super Cool O.J. Simpson holding these skates.
http://www.cora.org/OJSkate.htm I went out to the park not knowing anyone. I
couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were hundreds of rollerskaters there
skating up and down the street. Nothing was organized, just a lot of people
having the time of their lives. There was Dr. Funk and the Blood Clot, a
nickname for a group of African American rollerskaters led by Dr. Funk (local DJ
Miguel Franseca) He carried a huge "Radio Raheme" style boom box up and down
Kennedy Drive as we all boogie to the funky beat. There were pathways that went
to the beach. There were buffalos. There were little lakes. There were also
sand puddles where your feet stop, but your body keeps going. That's how I
discovered road rash.

I met my wife Rose in June of '79. The Golden Gate Park Skate Patrol formed in
July of '79. 1979 was a very good year for skating. As I look back at all the
great times we have had skating in Golden Gate Park, over the past 30 years,
it's as wonderful now as it has ever been. Please take a look at an article
that I saw in the San Francisco Chronicle exactly one week after I discovered
skating in Golden Gate Park Park published on March 15, 1979.
http://www.cora.org/SFChron3-15-79.htm This article drew skaters together and
formed the neucleus of the skate scene that still exists today.
You can read a history of skating news of the past 30 years at
http://www.cora.org/CORANewsVault.htm

Keep Rollin',

D. Miles Jr.
The GodFather of Sk8
http://www.cora.org http://www.skatinplace.com http://www.SkateGoldenGate.com

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