Speaking of odd types, one day in the cafe a grasshopper clone came in. You know, "Grasshopper", the nickname for Caine given to him by the shou lin master (sic) in the TV series Kung Fu. (Now I'm doubting myself, was that the name of the program?)

Anyway, to put it bluntly, this guy needed a bath. His long hair hung freely, his feet were as brown as his sandals. He wore a large blanket with a hole cut in it poncho style, and over his shoulder a ceramic flute hung. He stood in the middle of the room and began playing the flute in long low tones, with no melody in particular. My gentleman customer saw my dismay, and exclaimed, "No one wants to hear that here."

The blanket clad wanderer slowly lowered the flute and his eyes, and bowing, said, "As you wish." It was all I could do to keep from exploding with laughter. As a comic, he wouldn't be funny. But the fact that he took himself seriously was hilarious.

Then he asked if he could work for food. Again the gentleman addressd the beggar saying, "Why don't you go home and take a bath?" The wanderer held out his arms, and looking down at himself he explained in slow deliberate speech, "This........is my home."

Now I can only guess at what this creature must have thought of people's reactions to his performance. But when the lady at the table then asked him, "Where's the bathroom?", there was a hearty round of laughter followed by the exit of the wanderer, flute, home and all.

Oh boy.

Margarita