Day Three

K done with her presentations; very positively received, likely to result in more invitations, trips to East Coast.  We took subway to Coney Island - gorgeous day.  Walked the Boardwalk, rode the Cyclone - rickety, very old wood roller coaster; still a good ride.  Bought a Nathan's dog and some suds and ate and drank next to the Shoot The Freak arcade, where you buy paintballs and use this AK-47 looking pneumatic gun to shoot at a poor bastard in a helmet and body armor who is dancing around piles of junk about 30 paces away.  "You shoot him, he doesn't shoot back.  It's Coney Island's favorite sport!!" the barker intones through his p.a.  Had the targets been small yipping dogs I might have sighted one in.

Rode north all the way to 81st & Central Park West, and as we're climbing out of the station, K says,"Look!! It's the clown guy from the movie!!!"  It was, in fact either David, Seth or Jesse, from the documentary "Capturing The Friedmans" which we had watched just the week before.  I approached him and said, "Mr. Friedman?"  He gave that cautious look, glanced down and said Yes, it was him.  We chatted for a few minutes, I told him we had been touched by his bravery and wished him well.  Not ten minutes later, as we were about to enter the park, I got the familiar elbow in the ribs and K says, "Dan Akroyd is standing right behind you."  He looked so pasty and overweight I didn't think it was him, but others on the sidewalk started pointing him out, too, and he quickly sidled north and ducked into a florist.