In a plaza off main street, there is an antique shop called Florence’s Perpetual Estate Sale. A royal purple sign with fancy lettering, on the street side of the plaza, indicates to passersby that this out of the way little place exists and is open for business. It neighbors the martial arts dojo across from the convenience store parking lot.

On a bench outside the antique shop, there is an old skateboard. Unlike the other items appearently for sale outside the antique shop, the skateboard’s price appears to be unmarked. There are little red leaves – feathers? – painted on the wheels.

Have you ever been too scared to try something new because you’re quite certain you’re going to fall on your face and make a fool of yourself, if you do try? Not to mention the fear of losing control and falling, or the shock of colliding with the ground, or the prospect of painful blue and purple bruises.

The thing about falling is that you can usually get back on your feet, eventually, and it’s better to be sprawled on the ground covered in bruises than to never have tried. You’ll recover. I know this, in theory, and in some cases I know this from experience.

The only person I know – a little – who knows how to skateboard is so admirably good at it that I am far too shy to ask them to teach me how.