Red red wine.

It was a true skate rock party, that's all. Twenty-five years down. Circling the drain counter-clockwise at the High Speed-hosted anniversary celebration at Buca di Beppo in SE CA. The existential moment that transcended all had to be when Jake Phelps proposed to Lauren Riggins that they "make the High Speed spawn, a super baby to inherit the universe." Publisher Edward Riggins responded by throwing a 14-inch long knife at the editor. Forty-five guests cheered in unison as Phelps pulled out the pointed projectile. Jake lived to blight again. And Riggins and his prospective son in law squared off in yet several more hours of mano a mano consumption. Some thousands of good company dollars funded their bonding. Ultimately, Lauren was drafted to serve as designated driver. While the valet brought up the company Jaguar, Phelps disappeared into the night. He next arose in New Zealand. Riggins pleaded ignorance the following day, and everyone who valued their job agreed with their publisher.

It seems that San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom was looking the other way as well; seven days after the assassination attempt, the red carpet was duly unrolled at City Hall, where Baghdad-by-the-Bay's high council applauded Thrasher for 25-years of service to skateboarding. The resolution was item 43 on the agenda by no coincidence. On the contrary, item 40--which actually created SF's very own "Dance-Along Nut Cracker Day"--bore no association.