dreaming@echonyc.com

we were sitting in the theater at the bellagio waiting to see cirque du soleil's o. there were about 3,000 people there, so there was a lot of conversation taking place before the show began. gradually the buzz hushed as people around the theater began noticing the two clowns who'd come out without fanfare to begin their act.

so there are these two clowns, moving around the theater, finding leaks in the theater ceiling, sprinkling audience members with water, just generally doing the clown thing. but quietly. i admired the way they began the show; it was an organic way to shut people up and set a mood without blinking the lights or being intrusive.

except the people behind paul and me would not stop talking. they'd been fueled by a few beers and were nursing a few more, and were whooping it up, oblivious to the fact that the show had started. finally the theater was fairly quiet except for this group -- they truly didn't notice that everyone else had stopped talking and there were performers (several now) moving among the audience.

so paul turned around and said, "the show's started. can you please stop talking?" he was polite, i swear to god.

except one of the guys behind him decided to be offended rather than, you know, embarrassed like he should have been. "no, it hasn't. it's not 7:30 yet," the guy said indignantly. "my ticket says the show starts at 7:30."

paul paused, thought for a second, and said calmly to the guy, "what are you going to believe? your eyes or your watch?"