PET PSYCHIC INTERVIEW WITH TILLMAN THE SKATEBOARDING BULLDOG
TILLMAN IS A 1.5 YEAR-OLD BULLDOG. HERE IS WHAT HE HAS TO SAY,
I want to say that I love to skateboard. I dream of skateboarding all the time.
I am very smart. Way smarter than what anyone thinks. I like it when I eat hamburgers. It makes me skate better.
I like to go fast because it makes me feel like everyone stops and watches me. That is the best feeling and to feel the wind in my face. I want my kid to be able to teach me tricks. I want to be able to jump off the board and then back on really quickly, but I don’t know if I can run as fast as the board. I want a wider and longer ramp with obstacles I can weave through. Can they do that for me?
I need a jersey. Dad has some shirts that he thinks he looks really good in. Can I have one like his? The one I like is blue and has white and black lettering.
I like to skate mostly in the morning. It is harder for me to see at night under the lights. The shadows and glare play tricks on me then. I don’t understand why the kids wear shoes. Doesn’t it make it harder for them?
WHEN DID YOU FIRST KNOW YOU WANTED TO SKATE?
Stoli (a former dog of the home) told me that it was my job to learn to skate. He used to send me mental images of me skating as a puppy. He said there is nothing more fun than watching our family together. He used to say that skateboarding made families fall in love. He wanted to skate himself, but said he was too big and that maybe he would come back to earth as a kid one day. He told me that if I learned when I was little that I would always know how. I wanted to make Stoli proud. So I learned to skate. He was right it does make families fall in love.
I make people touch each other. When they see me they are filled with joy and love for one another. It’s a great feeling.
I remember the first time I tried to steer I lost my balance. Then they pushed me down a little hill and all of a sudden I started to shift my weight around and it made me move directions. I thought it was crazy. Then I would watch everyone skate and I would see how they skated. At first I tried to move my butt the way that they do, but then I realized that I am not a person so I had to find my own way. It is mostly in my shoulders.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT SKATEBOARDING?
I don’t like some of the peoples’ language. Sometimes I find that it is chilling. I love the excitement around skating and people cheering for me. No there is nothing about skate boarding I do not like.
ANYTHING YOU WANT TO TELL YOUR FANS?
Thank you for coming to see me. I love when people come to see me. It makes me feel very special. Also I would like other dogs to learn this sport. Some of the dogs that see me are jealous and I know they could do it too.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO TELL YOUR PEOPLE?
I want my people to know that they are just as special as I am. They make everyone smile around them. I want them to know that we are going to be ok and that know one will ever hurt us. Thank you for spending so much time with me.
I want them to keep focusing on the future in front of them. Because when I see them looking into the past, I think it hurts them. I know from skateboarding that you always have to look forward smiling. If you look back you fall and if you look forward with fear you fall.
YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT TILLMAN AT WWW.GOTILLMAN.COM
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Comments (12)
Laura,
Right now, on planet earth there is a horrific war happening, people dying everywhere, non-renewable resources being sucked dry, renewable resources being depleted at rates faster than can be replentished, injustice abound, evil corporations growing like locust larvae, water sources degraded, pollution piling, garbage protruding out of the ground, human population soaring, disease spreading, plants,animals and fish going extinct, oceans dying, ice melting in places ice shouldn't and has never melted, social injustices hiding in secret files.... and despite all this, do you truly feel that this contribution (interviewing a skateboarding bulldog) is really a worthwhile and valuable contribution to our society and planet? I ain't judging you, just posing a question that I try to think on every day.
Comment #1 Posted by: Pets Are Grand | February 27, 2007 04:01 PM
Laura -
Didn't you get my email that you are our Senior War, Pollution and Over-Population Correspondent?
In the future, please refrain from posting anything unique or entertaining.
Thank you,
The Management
Comment #2 Posted by: Tyler | February 27, 2007 05:34 PM
Laura,
I wish I could skateboard like Tillman. To be an expression of true play like a child is what we are really here for. We are the Creator's children and we are meant to be connected with our source energy and experience authentic PLAY! Look at how are pets most always want to play. To be full of Love and Joy! We as adluts need to reconnect with our creator source energy and remmeber who we really are. Not who we think we are. Tillman is a great teacher. I get the lesson. Thank you Laura!
Comment #3 Posted by: Tallison | February 28, 2007 03:53 PM
Is this supposed to be fiction? Does the author not realize these articles are complete projections of personal thought and emotion onto other species of life?
I can't wait for the next posting. What will happen? I'm guessing the author communicates with a Sunflower. And the Sunflower tells us how it has bitter feelings towards Bees. Because the last Bee that pollenated the Sunflower said that they were in a commited realtionship. But then the Sunflower found out that the Bee was pollenating many other flowers in the field. And now the Sunflower can't stand Bees and only likes other flowers.
Just my guess...
Comment #4 Posted by: Alfred Livingston | February 28, 2007 07:42 PM
"war happening, people dying everywhere, non-renewable resources being sucked dry..."
...and yet even with all this going on, there are still beautiful things like Tillman enjoying his time here!
here's another way to judge the value of things: at its very WORST, what is it and what does it do?
at their very WORST, Laura's contributions are fantastically imaginative bits of childlike poetic prose. and where's the harm in that?
specifically for you, Pets Are Grand, as a concerned human being and an activist on top of that, i know that it's important to stop and relax every so often...put the worries of the world behind you - if only for a moment. recharge, enjoy something, and THEN go back to the difficult work (and it IS) of being connected, engaged, and aware.
Comment #5 Posted by: evan | March 1, 2007 02:12 PM
Great stuff, Evan. I was just about to write something along those lines.
Since it's already been said I will say this instead:
That video is great. It brought a smile to my face. Thanks!
Comment #6 Posted by: Tanya | March 1, 2007 02:41 PM
I believe you all responded for me. Thank you:)
I would like to say that I think Tillman is remarkable. Not only does he put smiles on peoples’ faces, but he is also a symbol to go after what ever we are passionate about. Tillman never said, “I am not a person. I can’t skateboard. Or I don’t have a butt like them so I’ll just give up”. He learned a skill that many thought was impossible and he did so with complete bliss.
He is wise when he says, “You always have to look forward smiling. If you look back you fall and if you look forward with fear you fall.” We should all apply this advice to life. It is only when we take time out to enjoy our passion and look forward contently that we can begin to change the things that create suffering.
Take my posts however you like. Though it is hard to deny that Tillman is amazing. Did you see the way he jumped off the ramp onto the skateboard? He still has me smiling and for that I thank Tillman and his people.
Comment #7 Posted by: laura stinchfield | March 1, 2007 10:34 PM
Evan,
Some words you may find beneficial:
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything"
First, I'd like to say, I enjoy your seemingly peaceful attitude and conviction.
From an outside observer, it seems that your politically correct statements on this post and attempts to "keep the peace" aren't alway necessarily accomplishing what you may want them to, namely because these statements tend to sqaush the discussion between author and reader and often interrupt the flow.
Compromise is great, and I'm a strong proponent of it, but sometimes people have the right to an opinion without it being made into a "happy place" by you everytime it steps outside the politically correct status quo.
Comment #8 Posted by: Papa Hemingway (post mojito phase) | March 2, 2007 03:11 PM
papa hemingway,
thank you for your comment. i must say that i apprieciate evan's comments and i would have said something a long those same lines. it is ok with me if some want to few my posts as works of fiction though they are truly non fictional. to quote a friend i can be "a bit of a lightning rod" and i am ok with that right now. i dont view evan as squashing the flow. i see him as adding a little spice.
perhaps evan just lives in a "happy place" :)
many blessings
Comment #9 Posted by: laura stinchfield | March 2, 2007 09:06 PM
I think Evan stands for an awful lot of things. Compassion. Family. Community. Friendship. Fun. I don't see how adding anything to a discussion online, where anyone can post any old time, "squashes the discussion."
Comment #10 Posted by: heather | March 3, 2007 07:23 PM
I cannot read anything posted by Laura the Pet Psychic without tearing up. We are blessed to have her and her gift in our community. Those people who address war, poverty, and other human terrors are on their own path and I support their good work--but perhaps it is the path of our animal friends to help us humans through this vale of tears with their message of unconditional love, compassion, understanding, and FUN! I always find their words touching, insightful, and full of the willingness to accept and forgive. There is no wasted energy in the Universe--animals come to this life with a purpose just as we do. Perhaps they are here to teach us or remind us of what we have forgotten. I am thankful for Laura and her ability to interpret their words for the rest of us!
Comment #11 Posted by: Stepahnie | March 6, 2007 11:43 AM
IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE:
SOMEONE HAS BEEN COMMENTING UNDER MY NAME AND UNDER MY FATHERS.
WHO EVER IT IS PLEASE STOP!
I HAVE NOT NOR WILL I EVER RESPOND TO COMMENTS THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO THE TOPIC.
SINCERELY, LAURA STINCHFIELD
editor's note: we are saving IP addresses on all comments - it is fine to leave anonymous comments on The Ojai Post, it is inappropriate to leave comments pretending to be someone you are not, particularly the author or a relative of the author. We have redacted a number of comments on this thread as a result.
Comment #12 Posted by: laura stinchfield | April 4, 2007 02:49 PM