Everything Falls Apart or Name Thee Destroyer

It is crazy for me to think that this record came out just over 25 years ago. I was a spiky-haired high school creep that loved hardcore punk and skateboarding and these guys were amongst the pantheon of bands that blasted out the soundtrack to my surly world. At that time you were pretty much hated for liking this kind of music; many of my pals back then got hassled and occasionally beat up for going down this path. I had plenty of people talk shit to me, but I was already a pretty big guy so rarely did anyone try to fight me. I could have never have guessed how much influence the music and scene would have on me however I still do my own thing be it musically, vocationally, or with sporting interests.

The title of this album has always rung true for me; nothing lasts forever. I once heard a saying regarding my profession and health care in general that states that any procedure or service performed has only two outcomes. It fails or the patient dies. While that seems morbid, it is so true. It amazing to me how well most medical and dental work does do considering just how harsh an environment (your body) it is subjected to. Routine wear and tear should never be covered by warranties. There are many situations that are way beyond that and somehow they manage to hold up.

This brings me to tonight's point. As long I have been into aggressive sports such as skateboarding and the mountain biking I have taxed the tools of the trade to early failures. I have been on the Clydesdale side of the spectrum since high school so just my weight alone puts more than average fatigue on any given item. I have and always will ride aggressively; now I am not a total flying brick, but I am no ballerina either. I usually do not choose the smoothest of options, lines or landings mostly because its fun; sometimes because I just am sketchy. I broke tons of skateboards and then every bike part under the sun. I was very happy with influx of freeride-based components in mountain biking simply because I was not demolishing parts as rapidly as before. I still manage to burn up plenty of stuff yearly; I consider bottom brackets, and drivetrains disposable. Last year I went through two bottom brackets, two drivetrains (chainrings, chain and cassette), around a dozen sets of brake pads (worn to the metal, thank you), two and a half tire sets, a set of shifter cables, two sets of grips, two saddles, one crankset, one set of blown fork seals, and a pile of tubes. This is pretty normal for me and I have had many years that possessed higher tallies. Now and then I break something that most say is "indestructible" or "the most bullet-proof/bomb-proof". Unfortunately this has happened to me on three occasions with the same company. I am disappointed mostly because I think they are a good company and they make nice "Made-in-the-USA" stuff. Hell, they are from Georgia and I really would otherwise want to run their parts. I speak of L.H.Thomson whose seatposts and stems are in many peoples eyes right up there with Chris King headsets in their design and durability. I of course like everything else found away to destroy their stuff too. I stopped running their seatposts awhile back after cracking two of them and bending a third. They warrantied the first two; I did not bother with the third and just chose to run something else. Today as I was getting ready to ride home I found that my face plate of my Thomson stem had a crack. (see picture)
I am not mad as this stem is probably four years old purchased used and has been seriously thrashed. I will likely procure a replacement and laugh it off. Everything Falls Apart. No kidding!