An old man lay sprawled across three seats in
the theatre.
When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the old man,
“Sorry sir, but you’re only allowed one seat.”
The old man groaned but did not budge.
The usher became more impatient.
“Sir, if you don’t get up from there I’m going to have to call the
manager.”
Once again, the old man just groaned.
The usher marched briskly back up the aisle and in a moment he returned
with the manager.
Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move the old dishevelled man,
but with no success.
Finally, they summoned the police.
The officer surveyed the situation briefly then asked,
“All right sir what’s your name?”
“Fred,” the old man moaned.
“Where are you from, Fred?” asked the police officer.
With terrible pain in his voice, and without moving a muscle, Fred
replied,
“The balcony…”