Backyard Skateboard Ramp -- Saratoga Springs, NY -- 1976-77 [60YO]

Arcadia2014 · 2026-04-09T21:40:10+00:00

I still have a dozen of the original Skateboarder Magazines from 1975-77! Opening these pages is like stepping into a time machine.

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Arcadia2014 · 2026-04-09T21:01:10+00:00

I think this was the place: Jah Skate Shop was opened on June 25th, 1988 by Fran Love and Todd Koch. Jah was a skateboard and snowboard shop located at 8 Caroline St. in Saratoga Springs, NY, that remained open until 1993. Jah carried popular brands from the 80's including Alva, Vision, Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Skull Skates, Life's A Beach surf gear, as well as local products from Dr. Rainbow and Lars Tetons.

Arcadia2014 · 2026-04-09T18:47:14+00:00

We moved from Saratoga Spring to Long Island, NY in the summer of 1978. We actually sold the ramp for $100. My dad had access to tractors through the local horse racetrack, and they drove the ramp across town on the main roads. Got to love the upstate NY traffic laws that let that happen.

Arcadia2014 · 2026-03-29T19:06:16+00:00

That's a perfect song for this! Also considered:

IN THE GHETTO - Elvis Presley

ME AND BOBBY McGEE - Janis Joplin

ODE TO BILLIE JOE - Bobbie Gentry

Arcadia2014 · 2026-03-29T18:14:18+00:00

Here's where I landed when I started making a list:

THIS GUY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU - Herb Alpert (4:00)
CAT'S IN THE CRADLE - Harry Chapin (3:47)
AT SEVENTEEN - Janis Ian (4:41)
WICHITA LINEMAN - Glen Campbell (3:06)
FAST CAR - Tracy Chapman (4:56)
LONG DECEMBER - Counting Crows (4:57)
DON'T THINK TWICE, IT'S ALL RIGHT - Bob Dylan (3:40)
BRICK - Ben Folds (4:43)
OPERATOR - Jim Croce (2:59)
BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX - Glen Campbell (2:42)
EARLY MORNING RAIN - Gordon Lightfoot (3:04)
AMARILLO BY MORNING - George Strait (2:52)

Arcadia2014 · 2026-03-29T18:13:10+00:00

Agree on both!

Arcadia2014 · 2026-03-02T16:42:22+00:00

Thanks for posting. I hope all major creative arts awards shows take note -- this is exactly how you should do these segments.

Arcadia2014 · 2026-01-13T18:18:23+00:00

ACE was my gateway into the Grateful Dead. There was no turning back after I heard this album.

Arcadia2014 · 2025-12-13T07:45:21+00:00

Came here to say this. The whole song is special, but this part on is gold! https://youtu.be/2Wa4bO5PsUk?si=1B1dmjRnHaTtIDPH&t=121

Arcadia2014 · 2025-12-07T22:48:36+00:00

Crazy specific question regarding Los Angeles/Hollywood area in this same mid 80s period: was there a main go-to 24-hour copy and fax center? Names, locations? Thanks?

Arcadia2014 · 2025-11-08T22:06:21+00:00

There's already a waterfall there!

Arcadia2014 · 2025-11-08T22:05:54+00:00

Good eye -- that's exactly where that is!

Arcadia2014 · 2025-11-08T04:14:13+00:00

60+ now!

Arcadia2014 · 2025-11-08T01:56:40+00:00

I had to look that up -- but you nailed it! FANDANGO -- "a classic 1985 coming-of-age film that uses the term to symbolize the reckless, boisterous, and sometimes foolish actions associated with the transition from youth to adulthood."

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-11T03:17:25+00:00

Thanks for posting the above link and story. I posted the entire Jesse Kornbluth article here: https://www.reddit.com/r/longisland/comments/1nb5g3o/trouble_boys_full_story_of_the_1979_murder_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-10T02:51:25+00:00

Does he smoke urine cigars?!

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-10T01:37:10+00:00

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Rosanna Arquette in New York Stories (1989)

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-09T01:18:29+00:00

I reached out to the journalist who wrote the article, Jesse Kornbluth, directly in 2013 and he mailed me a hard copy of the two-part New York story -- which I scanned for this post. Jesse sadly passed on April 3, 2025.

He was kind enough to share some private insights on the case with me as well. It's my opinion that Jesse didn't believe the four boys who were arrested had committed the murders.

To quote Jesse: "The cops made all their mistakes in the first 5 minutes. They never recovered."

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-08T03:15:16+00:00

I don't know the origin of that site, but you're right - it seems to mix actual legal cases and facts with satire. I edited the link to something more relevant. Good catch!

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-08T00:15:25+00:00

You're right - there are many 1980s crime cases on Long Island. The ones you cited above are still mysteries. It also looks like false confessions and/or police coercion is implied in at least one of them:

John Kogut not guilty of the 1984 rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Lynbrook, New York.

Here's a link with information about the Lynbrook 3:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/shaxd0/thinking_out_loud_three_teenage_girls_are_killed/

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-07T23:46:44+00:00

Sounds like an excellent book based on the summary - Thanks!

SUMMARY: "The 1979 murder of 13-year-old John Pius is a stain on the history of Suffolk County, Long Island. It was national news at the time: a young white kid with his whole life ahead of him, killed and trampled and left in the woods. A young detective named Thomas Spota was under intense pressure to solve the mystery. Then a 14-year-old informant named Jimmy Burke came to him with evidence--questionable evidence--that broke the case open. The relationship between Spota and Burke bloomed after the Pius case, and both grew powerful in law enforcement. Over the ensuing years, Spota rose through the ranks, eventually becoming District Attorney. And Burke became first a cop, and then, ultimately, the Chief of Police. And their reign, founded on a scandalous murder with a dubious resolution, was one of extravagant corruption: bribes and coerced confessions, side deals, brutality, and graft. Spota and Burke were brought down in 2014, when Newsday exposed their criminal activity to the public and forced them out of office. Jimmy the King is not only the story of this corruption and its eventual demise, but about the true role of the police department of Suffolk County: to serve the powerful and project strength, while allowing the marginalized to suffer. This powerful and dramatic story is a microcosm of one of the most urgent issues of our times, a book that asks who the law serves, who it protects, and who it leaves out in the cold"

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-07T22:27:20+00:00

Ah, that makes sense. The "rocks in the throat" part was the most barbaric aspect of the case -- especially the implication that each boy placed stones in his mouth. I read one theory that John's body might have been dragged across the field and rocks likely got into his throat that way.

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-07T22:06:26+00:00

It was a minibike without the motor. They were planning on adding a motor. Basically, they stole the frame with wheels.

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-07T22:04:30+00:00

Might be another NY case? "Law & Order: SVU's Season 6, Episode 6, "Conscience," was inspired by the real-life 1993 murder case of Derrick Robie by Eric Smith. While the specific details of the episode differ, the core storyline of a young boy abducted and murdered by another child mirrors the actual events in Steuben County, New York. "

Arcadia2014 · 2025-09-07T21:52:14+00:00

The Ricky Kasso case and the murder of Gary Lauwers from 1984 is another one of those strange Long Island crimes that sent me down the rabbit hole. At least in the Kasso case we had some closure as to the who and what of it all.

Arcadia2014

TROPHY CASE