'unpromisingly portly.' My father is right, F. thought. I am like some disgusting beetle. No wonder when I asked for a raise Schnabel sprayed me with Raid! I am a wretched, abysmal insect, fit for universal loathing. I deserve to be trampled to death, torn limb from limb by wild animals. I should live under the bed in the dust, or pluck my eyes out in abject shame. Definitely tomorrow I must begin my diet.
That night, F. was the dreamer of euphoric images. He saw himself thin and able to fit into smart new slacks-the kind that only men with certain reputations could get away with. He dreamed of himself playing tennis gracefully, and dancing with models at fashionable spots. The dream ended with F. strutting slowly across the floor of the Stock Exchange, naked, to the music of Bizet's 'Toreador's Song,' saying, 'Not bad, eh?'
He awoke the next morning in a state of bliss and proceeded to diet for several weeks, reducing his weight by sixteen pounds. Not only did he feel better but his luck seemed to change.
'The Minister will see you,' he was told one day.
Ecstatic, F. was brought before the great man and appraised.
'I hear you're into protein,' the Minister said.
'Lean meats and, of course, salad,' F. responded. 'That is to say, an occasional roll-but no butter and certainly no other starches.'
'Impressive,' the Minister said.
'Not only am I more attractive but I've greatly reduced the chance of heart attack or diabetes,' F. said.
'I know all that,' the Minister said impatiently.
'Perhaps now I could get certain matters attended to,' F. said. 'That is, if I maintain my current trim weight.'
'We'll see, we'll see,' the Minister said. 'And your coffee?' he continued suspiciously. 'Do you take it with half-and-half?'
'Oh, no,' F. told him. 'Skim milk only. I assure you, sir, all my meals are now completely pleasureless experiences.'
'Good, good. We'll talk again soon.'
That night F. terminated his engagement to Frau Schneider. He wrote her a note explaining that with the sharp drop in his triglyceride level plans they had once made were now impossible. He begged her to understand and said that if his cholesterol count should ever go above one hundred and ninety he would call her.
Then came the lunch with Schnabel-for F., a modest repast consisting of cottage cheese and a peach. When F, asked Schnabel why he had summoned him, the older man was evasive. 'Merely to review various alternatives,' he said.
'Oh, I don't know. Now it's all becoming hazy and I've quite forgotten the point of the lunch.'
'Yes, but I feel you're hiding something,' F. said.
'Nonsense. Have some dessert,' Schnabel replied.
'No, thank you, Herr Schnabel. That is to say, I'm on a diet.'
'How long has it been since you've experienced custard? Or an Eclair?'
'Oh, several months,' F. said.
'You don't miss them?' Schnabel asked.
'Why, yes. Naturally, I enjoy consummating a meal by ingesting a quantity of sweets. Still, the need for discipline… You understand.'
'Really?' Schnabel asked, savoring his chocolate-covered pastry, so that F. could feel the man's enjoyment. 'It's a pity you're so rigid. Life is short. Wouldn't you like to sample just a bite?' Schnabel was smiling wickedly. He proffered F. a morsel on his fork.
F. felt himself becoming dizzy. 'Look here,' he said, 'I suppose I could always go back on my diet tomorrow.'
'Of course, of course,' Schnabel said. 'That makes splendid sense.'
Though F. could have resisted, he succumbed instead. 'Waiter,' he said, trembling, 'an eclair for me, too.'
'Good, good,' Schnabel said. 'That's it! Be one of the boys. Perhaps if you had been more pliable in the past, matters that should have been long resolved would now be finalized-if you know what I mean.'
The waiter brought the eclair and placed it before F. F. thought he saw the man wink at Schnabel, but he couldn't be sure. He began eating the gooey dessert, thrilled by every luscious mouthful.
'Nice, isn't it?' Schnabel asked with a knowing smirk. 'It's full of calories, of course.'
'Yes,' F. muttered, wild-eyed and shaking. 'It will all go directly to my hips.'
'Put it on in your hips, do you?' Schnabel asked.
F. was breathing hard. Suddenly remorse flooded every channel of his body. God in Heaven, what have I done! he thought. I've broken the diet! I've consumed a pastry, knowing full well the implications! Tomorrow I will have to let out my suits!
'Is something wrong, sir?' the waiter asked, smiling along with Schnabel.
'Yes, what is it?' Schnabel asked. 'You look as if you've just committed a crime.'
'Please, I can't discuss it now! I must have air! Can you get this check, and I'll get the next one.'
'Certainly,' Schnabel said. 'I'll meet you back at the office. I hear the Minister wants to see you about certain charges.'
'What? What charges?' F. asked.
'Oh, I don't know exactly. There've been some rumors. Nothing definite. A few questions the authorities need answered. It can wait, of course, if you're still hungry, Tubby.'
F. bolted from the table and ran through the streets to his home. He threw himself on the floor before his father and wept. 'Father, I have broken my diet!' he cried. 'In a moment of weakness, I ordered dessert. Please forgive me! Mercy, I beg of you!'
His father listened calmly and said, 'I condemn you to death.'
'I knew you'd understand,' F. said, and with that the two men embraced and reaffirmed their determination to spend more of their free time working with others.
The Lunatic's Tale
Madness is A relative state. Who can say which of us is truly insane? And while I roam through Central Park wearing moth-eaten clothes and a surgical mask, screaming revolutionary slogans and laughing hysterically, I wonder even now if what I did was really so irrational. For, dear reader, I was not always what is popularly referred to as 'a New York street crazy,' pausing at trash cans to fill my shopping bags with bits of string and bottle caps. No, I was once a highly successful doctor living on the upper East Side, gadding about town in a brown Mercedes, and bedecked dashingly in a varied array of Ralph Lauren tweeds. Hard to believe that I, Dr. Ossip Parkis, once a familiar face at theatre openings, Sardi's, Lincoln Center, and the Hamptons, where I boasted great wit and a formidable backhand, am now sometimes seen roller skating unshaven down Broadway wearing a knapsack and a pin-wheel hat.
The dilemma that precipitated this catastrophic fall from grace was simply this. I was living with a woman whom I cared for very deeply and who had a winning and delightful personality and mind; rich in culture and humor and a joy to spend time with. But (and I curse Fate for this) she did not turn me on sexually. Concurrently, I was sneaking crosstown nightly to rendezvous with a photographer's model called Tiffany
