I decided to throw my board in the car at the last moment and my brother and law, Lee Craig and his son Brannach Craig headed out to the City of Tallahassee Skate Park on the south side of town. The new skate park was absolutely fantastic and I remarked several times at how we always wanted a park in Tallahassee years ago but always just skated local wooden ramps at friends houses and all the streets in between. The new park is super nice with great texture, tons of great lines and yards of metal coping. Too much fun for a guy my age... but I will take it. At the end of the session we were already planning a way to get back on Christmas day for more. Lee gets so psyched he heads out to MoJo's Skateboard Shop in the mall in picks up a new Blind board.
So we show up early the next day and are skating and wishing we had a broom to sweep up 
some sand and leaves and low and behold a dude shows up with one. We get to talking about keeping the area clean and how we were so blessed to have a nice skatepark like this in Tallahassee as I did not have a place like that years ago. The guy with the broom agrees and said he felt the same. I asked him when he skated in Tallahassee and he says late 70's. My mind is racing and I asked his name and he says Lee. Man... my jaw dropped as I looked at his face and yelled out "Lee" and went to hug him. This was one of my old skate buddies from many years ago - Lee Nettles - who now lived in Tallahassee and owns the MoJo Skateboard Shop. I had not seen Lee since at least 1982 - over 25 years. We skated back in the day on the Skateboards Inside Out (SIO) team (started by Barry Zaritsky) and had a blast as teens doing a sport that nobody thought was cool except us. Here is a picture of the SIO gang in the late 1970s at the half time of a Florida State Seminoles football game as we skated there for the crowds entertainment (Travis Clayton, Scott Hughston, Brad McLeod, Stuart Singer, Jimmy Odum, Lee Nettles, right to left).
some sand and leaves and low and behold a dude shows up with one. We get to talking about keeping the area clean and how we were so blessed to have a nice skatepark like this in Tallahassee as I did not have a place like that years ago. The guy with the broom agrees and said he felt the same. I asked him when he skated in Tallahassee and he says late 70's. My mind is racing and I asked his name and he says Lee. Man... my jaw dropped as I looked at his face and yelled out "Lee" and went to hug him. This was one of my old skate buddies from many years ago - Lee Nettles - who now lived in Tallahassee and owns the MoJo Skateboard Shop. I had not seen Lee since at least 1982 - over 25 years. We skated back in the day on the Skateboards Inside Out (SIO) team (started by Barry Zaritsky) and had a blast as teens doing a sport that nobody thought was cool except us. Here is a picture of the SIO gang in the late 1970s at the half time of a Florida State Seminoles football game as we skated there for the crowds entertainment (Travis Clayton, Scott Hughston, Brad McLeod, Stuart Singer, Jimmy Odum, Lee Nettles, right to left).Skating was our life back in those days. I sucked at traditional sports like baseball and was way too small for football. I remember getting cut from the Leon Baseball team and kinda feeling bad. I got over it and found my world of skating which was an absolute gift for me. Skating was my passion and I took every chance to get out with the SIO gang and go down to ride at Shawn Peddies pool, Steve Rayburns ramp, Travis Claytons backyard ramp or to go out to FSU and explore the concrete.
Anyway, back to meeting up with Lee Nettles was a great moment and we both went on an on asking about old friends and catching up. We broke out the boards and caught a few runs and I followed Lee on an old skool carve through the whole park catching every wall and more. We exchanged numbers and vowed to meet again in the near future to catch up and skate a session.We came back to the house and ate lunch and were so psyched that we jumped back in the car and headed back to the park. My daughter Ollie (not named after the skate trick Ollie) had wanted to come along and it was great to work with her at the park and ease her back and forth between two small concrete ramps. Her balance is really starting to come along. Were going to have to go out and buy her a new board so that she can jump in the fun and follow her old man down that concrete dreamscape.
Cant wait to get back down to Tallahassee to skate the park and meet up with Lee and maybe Steve Rayburn and others. I am reminded that life is a gift and every day I am alive I am blessed to be healthy both mentally and physically and given a chance to show my daughter the things that I love. By Brad McLeod
You can reach Brad McLeod at mbmcleod@mindspring.com if you have comments or would like to trade notes on travel, family, financial freedom and lifestyle.
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