Free Room Service or Theater for the Asses

The girlfriend got free tickets to a play called Room Service at the Bank Street Theater. I was excited because this play was turned into a movie by the Marx Brothers and I am a big fan. It became their greatest flop because “the Marx Brothers were constrained by having to play characters with a passing resemblance to human beings.”

I had some time when I got off the train so I went to one of my favorite spots in the city: the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park. I plan to start busking there as soon as I spend a weekend in the city. In preparation, I rememorized all the plaques of his poems around the statue.

Twinkle twinkle little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea tray in the sky.

They told me you had been to her
And mentioned me to him;
She gave me a good character,
But said I could not swim.

Beautiful soup so rich and green!
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!

Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle!
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.

Speak roughly to your little boy,
And beat him when he sneezes:
He only does it to annoy,
Because he knows it teases.

Then I finish up with the Jabberwocky poem. I practiced yesterday on three little kids. I don’t think they spoke English and they regarded me with much more fear than admiration.

I headed down to the theater on 8^th Ave at a good clip when my chain fell off. On a fixed gear bike, this is the worst thing that can go wrong because the chain is used for braking. Luckily, I am not hardcore fixie because those guy ride without a backup brake which would have left me brakeless at high speed in the middle of Manhattan at rush hour. I still barely avoided an accident because I had to be grabbing for the brake which is not aligned well and does not slow me down very quickly.

This is why I like fixed gear for commuting through the city. I had a dangerous situation and I had to be grabbing for the brakes which left me very little control over my handlebars. Usually, when I have a problem and need to stop quickly and swerve, I have complete control of where I am going because my legs are taking care of the braking. I also can stop much quicker because I can skid to a stop instead of allowing the friction of the hand brakes to slow me down. But enough preaching,

I actually just put the chain back on the side of the street and kept going carefully. It means my chain must have been too loose and I’ll need to tighten it up when I get home. I continued down to the theater and met the girlfriend. The show was in a small theater with about 50 seats, cheap beer and only one bathroom.

The show was a “door slamming farce from 1937” and the director did a great job selecting the cast. Everyone fit their role, especially the lovable scheming producer who, of course, managed to pull it out in the end in spite of the odds. It was full of fast dialogue, one-liners and faked deaths. I’d recommend it to anyone.