Oct 16, 2002

After a Tex in the City staged reading, I left the room for a bathroom break and returned to discover the conversation was about how serious Will & Grace has become as of late. Greg insisted, “It’s a sitcom!” I don’t watch the show, but I empathized with the angst by chiming in, “It’s like when little Arnold Drummond was molested, you knew things were downhill from there.”

Indeed, midway through the 5th season, the writers of Different Strokes decided this might be funny:
The Bicycle Man (Part 1) (02/05/83 – #516)
Unaware that he’s being lured into the carefully crafted trap of a child molester, Arnold eagerly agrees to perform a simple task in return for an overly generous reward from a “friendly” neighborhood merchant.

The Bicycle Man (Part 2) (02/12/83 – #517)
Arnold and Dudley’s “friendship” with a local merchant reaches a dangerous turning point when, unbeknownst to the boys, the man, who is actually a child molester, is about to make his move.What we have here, is a failure to communicate!

Before the reading I was talking about Texans and Texan musicians living in NY with “Lisa”. This is a brief outline of our exchange:

Lisa: Do you know Charlie? He’s a singer.
Me: Does he have a Texas tattoo?
Lisa: Hmmm no, don’t think so…Charlie Smith?
Me: Dunno his last name, but he’s a singer named Charlie, has Texas tattoo and is married to a pretty blonde girl.
Lisa: Is his name Bruce?
Me: Uhhh…No. Charlie?

Then a few moments later the conversation segued into this summarized chat:

Lisa: We got married in Vegas.
Me: Oh, in a chapel or casino?
Lisa: Chapel.
Me: Marc’s best friend lives there.
Lisa: In Texas?
Me: Uhhh…No. Vegas?

I must learn to communicate better.