Post by Jack Ferriman on Aug 17, 2024 5:33:39 GMT
Jack didn’t have a match at Legacy. And while he could stew on the fact the faction wasn’t getting booked as a tag team he was nothing but happy for his bros. Pax had a title match to prepare for, as did Nate but Jack was trying to just chill. Something about facing Rob Diamond multiple times helped him get a little perspective on things. He wasn’t just a tag team wrestler. He could handle things solo. So he was trying to be positive.
A conversation about Pax-Jack Bro time had come up. How he and Pax rarely did things just the two of them. Jack wasn’t sure how the idea had come to be this specifically, maybe he had seen a skatepark on one of the times they’d all been walking around the city and commented how he missed skateboarding. Maybe it had been Nate making a joke about the Quileute in Jack just missed surfing. Maybe it had been something they’d been joking around when they’d been watching the Olympics to get Pax out of his slump. But here he and Pax were at Jonanjima Seaside Skate Park. Jack had even grabbed his spare board from his suitcase to loan Pax. Both were bought pretty new, something to spend some of that merch money on. Both were bought from a native-owned skate shop in Washington.
Jack felt like it was just like coming home, something about being on the board even despite no longer being a scrawny kid moving by just leaning felt natural, it was in his blood. He was a confident and experienced skateboarder, maybe he could take some of that feeling into the ring this week against Logan. To get a feel for the park he started by showing some tricks on his board, smoothly gliding over ramps and performing simple ollies before Jack moved back up to Pax who seemingly watched him.
“It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it.” Jack offered. “I know you Ojibwe did some canoeing. It’s a lot like that. Just ya know, standing and with your body. We can start easy.” Jack stepped on the board to pop it up catching it in his hands. “I tried teaching Nate but he was all arms.”
“Ya man, I dunno…” Pax wobbled slightly on the board before he set his foot down on the ground to stabilize himself. “I can move forward. I got that down. Mostly at least.” He pushed off the ground and tried to return his foot to the board and wobbled again. “Well, a little…”
“Okay. So let’s just try standing on the board. Get some comfort.” Jack walked over and offered to be something to hold on to. “You got this.”
“Sure, ok.” Pax rested his hand on Jack’s shoulder to help steady himself on the board. Then he tried another slow kick off to get moving. “Ya, this helps out a lot.”
“Perfect.” Jack walks with him, “So you’re gonna work at shifting your weight to your toes and heel. It’s forward to go, backward slows you down.”
Pax nodded his head before following his advice and a grin spread across his face. “Alright, ya. That’s not too hard to get the hang of.”
“Fuck yeah! You got this.” Jack grinned, “ready to try it solo?”
“Sure thing. I think I got the balance down. Don’t want to take up all your time here lookin after me.” He grins. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“As long as you just stay and practice moving back and forth and don’t try anything advanced? Maybe a fall. But that’s what the hamlet and pads are for.” Jack stepped back. “Thanks for coming with me.”
Pax laughed easily. “Nah, I ain’t gonna try anything crazy. Don’t think a fall will bang me up any more than what happens in the ring.” He looked over at Jack and smiled. “Course bro. Happy to hang out with ya.”
“Me too. It’s fun hanging with you too.”
A conversation about Pax-Jack Bro time had come up. How he and Pax rarely did things just the two of them. Jack wasn’t sure how the idea had come to be this specifically, maybe he had seen a skatepark on one of the times they’d all been walking around the city and commented how he missed skateboarding. Maybe it had been Nate making a joke about the Quileute in Jack just missed surfing. Maybe it had been something they’d been joking around when they’d been watching the Olympics to get Pax out of his slump. But here he and Pax were at Jonanjima Seaside Skate Park. Jack had even grabbed his spare board from his suitcase to loan Pax. Both were bought pretty new, something to spend some of that merch money on. Both were bought from a native-owned skate shop in Washington.
Jack felt like it was just like coming home, something about being on the board even despite no longer being a scrawny kid moving by just leaning felt natural, it was in his blood. He was a confident and experienced skateboarder, maybe he could take some of that feeling into the ring this week against Logan. To get a feel for the park he started by showing some tricks on his board, smoothly gliding over ramps and performing simple ollies before Jack moved back up to Pax who seemingly watched him.
“It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it.” Jack offered. “I know you Ojibwe did some canoeing. It’s a lot like that. Just ya know, standing and with your body. We can start easy.” Jack stepped on the board to pop it up catching it in his hands. “I tried teaching Nate but he was all arms.”
“Ya man, I dunno…” Pax wobbled slightly on the board before he set his foot down on the ground to stabilize himself. “I can move forward. I got that down. Mostly at least.” He pushed off the ground and tried to return his foot to the board and wobbled again. “Well, a little…”
“Okay. So let’s just try standing on the board. Get some comfort.” Jack walked over and offered to be something to hold on to. “You got this.”
“Sure, ok.” Pax rested his hand on Jack’s shoulder to help steady himself on the board. Then he tried another slow kick off to get moving. “Ya, this helps out a lot.”
“Perfect.” Jack walks with him, “So you’re gonna work at shifting your weight to your toes and heel. It’s forward to go, backward slows you down.”
Pax nodded his head before following his advice and a grin spread across his face. “Alright, ya. That’s not too hard to get the hang of.”
“Fuck yeah! You got this.” Jack grinned, “ready to try it solo?”
“Sure thing. I think I got the balance down. Don’t want to take up all your time here lookin after me.” He grins. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“As long as you just stay and practice moving back and forth and don’t try anything advanced? Maybe a fall. But that’s what the hamlet and pads are for.” Jack stepped back. “Thanks for coming with me.”
Pax laughed easily. “Nah, I ain’t gonna try anything crazy. Don’t think a fall will bang me up any more than what happens in the ring.” He looked over at Jack and smiled. “Course bro. Happy to hang out with ya.”
“Me too. It’s fun hanging with you too.”
“Here we are. Another solo match. But I think I’m getting back into the grove of being able to handles these on my own. Thanks Rob. Seriously. A lot of what you said actually helped me focus. So like, Thanks for that man.” Jack rubs the back of his head.
“Logan Sky. I don’t think we’ve ever fought before. I’ve watched your stuff of course. I mean, I saw the matches you had with Nate. You got some of the old generational spirit you don’t see much. A lot of the older guys hang up the spandex after a few years. It’s kind of inspiring to see you keep coming back at it. You want another shot at glory. I think that’s fucking legit.”
“Like… god, not to sound like the token indian guy from all those movies from the 90’s or nothing but like…part of our culture…my culture… is remember the sacred teachings passed down to us by our ancestors. In the heartbeat of the drums, we find the wisdom of those who walked this land before us, and in the whisper of the wind, we hear their voices guiding our steps.”
“Our ancestors, like, whose spirits still walk among us, lived in harmony with the earth and each other. They knew that every fucking things has like a story and shit, just as every elder holds the knowledge of a thousand generations. We don’t have a lot of written history. And what written history is stolen by fucking people who want to make a quick buck or sell new age bullshit books. We do verbal hisotry. Anyway, it is from these stories, these teachings, that we learn who we are and where we are going.”
“So to me? Wrestlers from time past mean a bit to me. It helps us understand where the sport used to be. It helps us figure out where we came from. And to respect that shit? That’s just my duty.”
“I know being a young kid it’s easy to assume that I don’t give a fuck about where we came from. Specific like In our modern world, it is easy to forget the lessons of the past. We rush forward, eager for the future. But like that one quote every teacher says in high school, those for forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Not sayin’ your a bad example of how to live ones life or nothing. But like… we often lose sight of the wisdom that has been entrusted to us. The elders among my people are the keepers of this wisdom. They have lived through the storms and the sunshine, and their lives are woven with the threads of experience, patience, and love.”
“You lived through some shit. And I respect that. As we go forward, may we carry the light of our ancestors within us, letting it guide us through the challenges and triumphs of life. May we be the living embodiment of their hopes and dreams, and may we pass on their wisdom to the children who will one day take our place. So when I say I want to learn some shit from you, its not blowing smoke up your ass. I legit want to be a better wrestler and like, it starts by figuring shit out. And you are my next key. I look forward to the match.”
“Let’s go.”
“Logan Sky. I don’t think we’ve ever fought before. I’ve watched your stuff of course. I mean, I saw the matches you had with Nate. You got some of the old generational spirit you don’t see much. A lot of the older guys hang up the spandex after a few years. It’s kind of inspiring to see you keep coming back at it. You want another shot at glory. I think that’s fucking legit.”
“Like… god, not to sound like the token indian guy from all those movies from the 90’s or nothing but like…part of our culture…my culture… is remember the sacred teachings passed down to us by our ancestors. In the heartbeat of the drums, we find the wisdom of those who walked this land before us, and in the whisper of the wind, we hear their voices guiding our steps.”
“Our ancestors, like, whose spirits still walk among us, lived in harmony with the earth and each other. They knew that every fucking things has like a story and shit, just as every elder holds the knowledge of a thousand generations. We don’t have a lot of written history. And what written history is stolen by fucking people who want to make a quick buck or sell new age bullshit books. We do verbal hisotry. Anyway, it is from these stories, these teachings, that we learn who we are and where we are going.”
“So to me? Wrestlers from time past mean a bit to me. It helps us understand where the sport used to be. It helps us figure out where we came from. And to respect that shit? That’s just my duty.”
“I know being a young kid it’s easy to assume that I don’t give a fuck about where we came from. Specific like In our modern world, it is easy to forget the lessons of the past. We rush forward, eager for the future. But like that one quote every teacher says in high school, those for forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Not sayin’ your a bad example of how to live ones life or nothing. But like… we often lose sight of the wisdom that has been entrusted to us. The elders among my people are the keepers of this wisdom. They have lived through the storms and the sunshine, and their lives are woven with the threads of experience, patience, and love.”
“You lived through some shit. And I respect that. As we go forward, may we carry the light of our ancestors within us, letting it guide us through the challenges and triumphs of life. May we be the living embodiment of their hopes and dreams, and may we pass on their wisdom to the children who will one day take our place. So when I say I want to learn some shit from you, its not blowing smoke up your ass. I legit want to be a better wrestler and like, it starts by figuring shit out. And you are my next key. I look forward to the match.”
“Let’s go.”
Well howdy there pardner.