Only on Hollywood Boulevard

(okay, on Venice beach too)

can you see such great and odd entertainment for free.

There I was with the beamish boy on Hollywood Boulevard

and there was Mr. Tim Eric,

gathering a crowd around him in arcane sideshow carney barking,

promising "NO TRICK" and

"ONLY ONE SHOW A DAY!"

Just west of Highland

he spent a long time attracting an audience,

and when a big crowd was gathered around,

he invited two guys - one black, one white -

to elaborately strap on this old strait-jacket

and chains and locks and hand-cuffs -

which took some time - and then,

in the blazing white-hot heat of the July sun,

he began to roll and roil about on the griddle-hot

walk of fame

and slip and slide out of the chains

and eventually the strait-jacket -

sweating profusely,

his eyes rolling up into his skull

as if he was having a seizure - and people were moaning

and clapping and scared and excited-

and this is show-biz, folks - and indeed it was no "trick,"

this was not an illusion - this was an escape artist

in the tradition of senor houdini himself-

making a public spectacle out

of his liberation from the shackles.

Later that day the boy and I saw Mr. Eric

zooming east down the old boulevard

on a motorized wheel-chair.

He does only do one show a day, if that.

This ain't easy, folks.