shoe scam

About two weeks ago, my friend Brian came into town for his debut performance at Lincoln Center. He was one of the soloists for The Destruction of Jerusalem, an oratorio by Ferdinand Hiller, played by the American Symphony Orchestra. It was the American debut as well. Kind of a big deal. (Brian did fabulously, by the way. His aria and duet were absolutely beautiful! So proud was I.) Anyway, lucky for me I not only got to see his fabulous performance, but I also got to spend a little time with him. One night we were on our way to dinner and a man stopped us. (We always get approached by someone asking for money when we are together. It happened last time he came here for auditions too.) Anyway, we are not good at saying no and always end up stopping.

This man didn't ask for money outright, however. He wanted to "earn" his keep and tried to engage us in a little game. He told us that he could tell us where we got our shoes...the city, state, zip, etc. If he got it right, we would give him $5, if he got it wrong, he would give us $5. He started to ask us questions about ourselves and then reiterated the original offer. Brian consented and then he started to move in on me. Thank goodness Brian interjected and told him that he should just play this game with him!

In my mind, there was NO WAY that he would be able to guess where Brian got his shoes no matter how many questions he asked. Did he know that Brian and his family travel the world? Did he know that Brian lives on the other side of the country? No. He knew none of this and yet he claimed that he could guess where Brian got his shoes.

The big moment came and we were eagerly waiting his answer. "You wanna know where you GOT those shoes?" he asked. "Look down." And there they were. They were on Brian's feet just where they had always been. And that is how we got scammed by a very clever man on 94th and Broadway.