MIDDLE-AGE DOLDRUMS? TRY SKATEBOARDING

A new study – that sounds as scientific as can be – says that if you’re middle-aged and stressed out and depressed, you should take up skateboarding. Sociological researcher Dr. Paul O’Connor, from the University of Exeter (* Note: Never send your kids to the University of Exeter) said that the nature of skateboarding, which celebrates failure as part of growth – like when you fall, may help adults loosen up and start enjoying life again. And, he says, it seems to do so better than other sports or exercise. O’Connor studied middle-aged skateboarders in Hong Kong and the UK, interviewing 30 of them (* Gosh – 30!) to understand what they get out of it. He found that skateboarding was “more than about looking after physical health. To them, skateboarding seemed to mean more.” In some cases, O’Connor saw “grown men fighting back tears” as they spoke about it.
* But that was more likely from the pulled groin muscles.
* It can help middle-aged people “loosen up and start enjoying life again,” except for the broken wrists and blown-out knees.
* And would someone please let Dr. O’Connor know it’s January?
* Nothing will make you feel younger than hanging out at the skate park, right?
* By the way, the study named “Identity and Wellbeing in Older Skateboarders,” was published in the research text Lifestyle Sports and Identities. And you’re gonna want a copy of that when the cops come to ask what you’re doing hanging around the skate park.