Oscar

I was supposed to work Saturday but I had to call my boss and ask if I could work Sunday instead. I had forgotten that Sara had invited me to see her friend's Jeffrey Sweet's play THE VALUE OF NAMES. It actually turned out that we did the trip to White Plains in the same car as the playwright.

I like this guy Jack Klugman a lot. I discovered THE ODD COUPLE only about a year ago. It's strange to like a TV show that was aired 30 years ago. The last episode was aired months before my birth...

I don't think I have seen Klugman in any other show before I went to the play, so of course for me he is the one and only Oscar Madison. The sloppy sport writer whose bedroom looks pretty much like mine. Klugman has this incredible presence on stage.

I always make a fool of myself when I meet people I admire a lot. With time (well, since I'm in NYC at least, 'cause that's where I have met most of them) I have learnt to keep it simple. Shake hands firmly, look in the guy's eyes while thanking him for his work. Of course the guy has heard that 1,000 times before, plus it's not original and he probably won't remember you. But it's better to get the message through than try some eccentric thing that totally undermine your credibility. Eventually, I missed the opportunity to shake hands with the old man.

The way things turned out, I didn't happen to talk to him or even shake hands. We were supposed to go to that Italian restaurant not far from the theater, so I saw no point in staying in the theater's hall after the show to get an autograph. Can't remember the name of the restaurant. We went there, anyway. At the far end of the open dining room, there was a huge, round bank door. We were supposed to eat there with the crew. Inside the safe there's a little room with a long table. But there were too many people for the little room and the person who drove us wanted to go home early so we finally headed back to the City.

It felt so great to escape from the City. There's still snow everywhere at White Plains. Well, not everywhere, maybe. But it still looks quite white up there.