Seen in the City

First, by the numbers, continued...

6 is the number of people present when I performed
6 more minutes of comedy at my
6th club in New York. I was
1 of the
6. Tonight will see clubs
7 and
8, and there should be
more people at
both. I don't see how there could be
fewer.

The other day, I walked through Washington Square Park in the NYU area. I saw the guys who are always out there playing chess (If you've seen Searching for Bobby Fischer, you know what I'm talking about). That was cool. Even cooler? When I walked through, they were being treated to an incredibly disturbing outburst by a woman who was either... 1) the worst street performer of all time, or 2) the best crazy lady ever. I didn't get to stick around and see if there was an end, followed by applause - which would have meant scenario 1, or, well, an end followed by applause - which probably would have meant scenario 2. Hmmm.

Sunday, as I was wandering the streets during a couple hours of homelessness before the friend with whom I'm currently staying returned to the city, I visited the famous New York public library, where I saw the famous lion statues out front, as well as many interesting exhibits (though I never actually found the books) inside. That was cool. Even cooler? I saw a group of French students and their teacher oohing and ahhing over a dead cockroach on the front steps of the building. They noticed how entertained I was and I falsely explained that we, too, "get very excited to see them." They explained that they had been studying them. The lesson? School in France must suck.