nts without finding a way to make money.

In only a few weeks I discovered the quickest and easiest way to do it
was to become an entertainer. The people here like to be shocked and
astonished. Naturally I am well equipped to do both. I was an
immediate sensation. I got into what New Yorkers call "The Big Time."

Each night at 8:30 I went to a theatre in a place called Times Square
and put on my act. Thousands of people paid to see me. I was very well
paid. There is a newspaper here called "Variety." It carried an
article about me. The headline said: STRONG MAN TERRIF WOW SOCKEROO
100G 3D. The numbers at the end mean the theatre took in $100,000
during my third week. After the article appeared every seat was sold
weeks in advance.

You will be amused, Excellency, when you hear what I did in this show.
I came out on the stage practically nude except for an abbreviated
leopard skin. I walked over to a pile of iron rods. They were
half-inch concrete reinforcing bars about six feet long. I picked one
out and dropped it on the floor. It made a terrible crash. This was to
prove to the audience that it was real. Then I wrapped it around my
neck and tied it in a regular four-in-hand necktie knot. It was a
little hard to get the ends to come out even. I had to pull and haul
to arrange them just right. This caused tremendous laughter. They knew
no one could do this with an iron reinforcing bar. They were sure it
was a trick.

I chose the man in the audience who was laughing the loudest and asked
him to come up on the stage. With a little persuasion he did so. I
selected another iron bar and wrapped it around his neck. Then I tied
it in a four-in-hand knot and adjusted the ends until they were
perfect. I asked him to take the necktie off. He grabbed it with both
hands and tried. His face turned purple with effort, but of course he
could not even budge it. Everyone laughed loudly. Finally twenty men
from the audience volunteered to help. They all started pulling and
hauling. They couldn't get the iron necktie off. Then the audience
became silent. They looked at each other uneasily. There were
frightened whispers.

* * * * *

That was the time to break the tension. I would spit on the floor. As
my saliva hit the stage it burst into flames and a smell of perfume
drifted through the theatre. It was my turn to look surprised and
scared. Everyone howled with laughter, and the tension was broken for