Comment by Jodi on April 3, 2009 at 12:58pm

yikes. sorry to hear you had to go to that and thank you for posting the story. at least now we all know... i vaguely remember knowing about a general 'no hats on the skate rink' rule b/c of safety but i totally would not have thought about it before going again and depending on what the social situation was that could have been ackward. thanks for the reminder! i'm glad you were with family that loves you so much and was so supportive.

Comment by Tina Smith on April 3, 2009 at 3:28pm

Let me first start by saying that I'm very very glad to hear that your evening turned out as a good experience with the bowling. However, being an employee of that skating rink (with the economy being as it is, you don't always get the best choice of 2nd jobs) and having been less than ten feet away from the conversations that took place with this unfortunate incident, I don't feel that you are aware of all the facts of the conversations as they took place between my manager and two of the gentlemen in your group. The ONLY problem was that the head covering you had on was unfortunately a "bandanna print". As we all know, these types of articles are widely considered to be "gang paraphernalia" and therefore are not permitted in lots of places for safety reasons. My manager explained this to the gentleman, and even made several different suggestions of other items that he would have been able to allow you to wear, even out on the skating floor. He was even asking myself and other employees if we had something that we would give up so that you could use it instead of the "bandanna" and be able to still stay and skate. As we were looking for anything that would work, that is when one of the men in your group became extremely aggressive and started threatening the managers life while pounding on the DJ booth window in front of about 250 children. He was so out of control that he had to be escorted out by a police officer. (I realize this was not your fault, but you might want to have a talk with that guy-he was WAY out of line) My manager felt very very bad about the entire situation. He was willing to make every possible kind of exception for you, but unfortunately the only exception that could not be made was for a "bandanna" to be worn inside the rink. This would also explain why you had no problem last time when you wore a knitted cap. My main job is in the medical field here in Lancaster, so I know that you and your family are learning to cope with an extremely difficult situation regarding your recent diagnosis. May I suggest that you carry an alternative type of covering with you when you wear a "bandanna" to ensure that this type of bad experience does not happen to you or your family elsewhere...? I wish you the best, and would only like to say that hopefully now that you have the facts that others in your group were not telling you, you understand the rinks position as well.

Comment by Nitza on April 23, 2009 at 11:17pm

just wanted to say thanks for the comments guys..Tina l understand every thing your saying..but that would of never happen if you guys had never let me go in.. l say your manager and the employees did ant do there job. l just want to apologize for the kids that had to see the incident.

Comment by Tina Smith on May 4, 2009 at 2:45pm

Nitza, I'm glad that now you have the full story. One additional thing though... I remember noticing that when you were leaving that you had a hood up over your bandanna. If this is how you came in, that is probably why it was not caught at the door. I hope all is going well for you and your family.

Comment by Nitza on May 4, 2009 at 9:17pm

Tina, I did have a hoody "BUT" I did not have it on when I went in..and I had a WHITE bandanna with Blake spots on it. so anyone could easily spot a person with WHITE coming in.. and the reason I had my hoody on when I was leaving it was because I was told to take my bandanna off or I had to leave.I just wanted to make that "CLEAR"..and yes my family and I are doing very well thank you.

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