“Look at this,” I said to Sherry. “I got an email message from my old friend Fred back in the U.S. It says he will be in Belize City on the 14th of the month.”
“What does Fred do?” she asked. “And what brings him to Belize?”
“There’s no telling,” I told her. “He’s one of those strange characters who’s done everything from being a race car driver to a big game hunter. The last time I heard from him he was a movie stunt man.”
Fred called me when he arrived in the country and we met for lunch. We caught up on what I’ve been doing and then I asked, “What brings you to Belize?”
“I’m working as a talent scout,” he said. “I’ve been hired by a big circus to travel Central America looking for new acts.”
“And how is that working out?”
“I rented a building outside the city and I audition people every day,” he said. “Why don’t you come with me this afternoon? You’ll find it interesting.”
That afternoon I saw a sword swallower, a six hundred and fifty pound fat lady and a contortionist who could stuff himself into a small ice chest.
Fred said, “I’m looking for something different. I’ve seen all these acts before.”
The next man to audition carried two big suitcases. He opened one of them and it was filled with huge stones.
“Are you ready?” he asked Fred. “O.K. Here goes.”
He tossed a gigantic stone up in the air and caught it on his head. He tossed more of them. Some broke but he caught most of them.”
“Now this is a different kind of talent,” Fred said, when he finished. ”What do you have in the other suitcase?”
“Tylenol.”
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