"You're gonna fall down and break your ass!" the old man yelled as he left his apartment building and limped down the street with his dog. I turned and gave him a twisted smile. I had already fallen the day before, the day I got my brand new board. How psyched was I to stumble upon a store that had the exact deck I wanted - white - emblazoned with the words: "GIRLS KICK ASS!". We went to the park that afternoon and I tried to get used to the new narrow board. It is much lighter than the old fish-tail board Jim gave me. It didn't take long for the lithe piece of wood to go flying out from under my uncertain feet and send me crashing to the asphalt. I think sprained my wrist. It's been almost a week since the unfortunate mishap and it still aches.

I forgot the old man for a while; I was too busy trying to learn how to balance and turn. It was a beautiful day, sunshine, light breeze, and new skateboard. The sound of our boards echoing down the block; Kyle's jumping and landing with a crack and mine simply rolling along. A short while later the old man came back. His huge german shepherd was growling and straining on his leash, but he wasn't trying to lunge at us. Rather, he was trying to get away.

"Hey! Hey you! Get off my block!" the man bellowed, "You're scarin' my dog!"

I turned to look at him, he couldn't possibly be talking to me, I don't usually inspire fear in dogs.

"Yeah you! Get outta here! You don't belong here!"

"It's a free country, old man. Take your dog inside if he's scared."

He growled at us (the man, not the dog) and went in.

I was shaken up a bit, I don't really like getting into confrontations with people. But it was sunday afternoon, broad daylight, and I was only 3 blocks away from my house. We had every right to be there. There was this Hasidic man sitting out on his stoop watching us. He had no objections to our recreation.

"I told you to get outta here you damn arabs!"

Incredulous, I stopped in my tracks, dumfounded, as the old geezer slothed menacingly at us brandishing a bentwood cane.

"You're making my dog crazy, get outta here!"

The waving cane brought instant rage to the pit of my stomach. Who was this guy? What right did he have to threaten us with blunt objects while we broke no laws?

I lost it.

"You don't own this street, old man. I have every right to be here." Then I got scared. And even more angry.

"If you touch him I'm calling 911!"

The man sitting on the stoop piped in, "I'll be a witness for you guys!"

"You dirty Jews, why don't you get off my block!"

So now we were Jews.

Kyle started yelling at the man, threatening to whack him one with his board if the guy used his cane. Then he knew he was beat. He started screaming that I was an ugly bitch.

We retreated.

I was shaking.

Kyle said later that if he had just come out of his apartment and asked us nicely to leave we would have. But no. People just don't know how to act civilly any more, including myself.