Accosted on the Street

I am an attorney and belong to a Young Lawyer's group in my city. We have lunches once a month at a very nice restraunt downtown where we also have the opportunity to listen to a presentation that fulfills our required continuing legal education. I have been in charge of these luncheons for the last year and it really involves very little preparation. Nonetheless, I am usually the first and the last person there. I pay the check after everyone has left and then happily walk back to my downtown office to continue billing. Yesterday, however, was a little more eventful.

Yesterday, the lunch went off without a hitch as we learned about the riveting topic of no evidence motions for summary judgment. I was, as usual, the last person in the room paying the bill when one of the associates at my firm came up to sign the sign-in sheet and offered to wait for me. At first I said that he shouldn't wait, but then I decided I was nearly done so I took off with him. I can't tell you how glad I am that he waited.

As we were walking back to our office, chatting amiably about motions for summary judgment, a man who I have never seen before walked by me and said the most offensive things to me. I didn't touch him, bump him or even look at him until after I figured out he was talking to me. He started out by calling me the "c" word along with other foul and disgusting things. I looked at him in shock and said, "Wow, thank you." And we walked off in shock, but the true extent of our shock was yet to come. As we walked off the foul man continued to yell at me calling me all the foul things you can think of. We ingnored him, of course, and then he started to follow us continuing to shout at the top of his lungs all the horrible things he thought of me. My friend pulled out his cell phone and began to call the police, and then the foul man began to yell obsenities at my friend saying, "Go ahead, you ___, call the police!" My friend turned around and told the guy to leave me alone, but he just continued to keep shouting. Meanwhile, all the people on the street were staring and some had also called the police. Finally, after about three blocks of this my friend turned around again and told the guy to just go away, and the foul guy said, "Come on, ___, you want to fight me?!" Then two other guys ran up to us to help us and the foul guy ran away. I started shaking at that point. The guys had also called the police and they walked with us back to my building. We found some mounted police and told them about it. The caught the guy, but later that evening I saw him back on the street. I was pretty shaken up, but I guess all's well that ends well, right?