“pulled her from the arms of the mime”

from the diary: “Fried egg [Friday] 10/28/88”

Julie & I had planned to take a ferry & train back to London and hadn’t realized our tickets only allowed us on the 9:30am. We’d missed that. There was nothing for it but the 8:30pm and paying a “night supplement”. Finding ourselves with another day in Amsterdam we went to the Van Gogh museum. I bought postcards.

“As we came up the Dam Rak a mime in a black suit and silver face paint was just getting into his routine. He had a boom box for accompaniment and began with the usual pressing-hands-against-invisible-wall and moonwalking. …

“Julie fished out 2 of her last guilders and took them to his paper cup. As she turned to come back, the mime ducked behind her and followed her to the edge of the circle. When she turned around there they stood, face-to-face. He stuck out his hand & she shook it. Then he lifted the camera from around her neck and handed it to me. Whoop! he lifted her up. ‘Take the picture!’ cried Julie. ‘Take the picture! Help!’ So I, quick, snapped the picture, took Julie’s hand and pulled her from the arms of the mime.”