INTERSTITIAL 001

“Wayne Newton”

The date: November 21, 2002.

I was working in Manhattan, towards the end of my time with McKinsey and Company. It was the week before Thanksgiving and I had Peter Gabriel tickets at Madison Square Garden.

My workday that day ended around 5 pm, and the show didn’t start until 8 pm, so I had some time to kill. It was a unseasonably warm November night, so I decided to walk north up Madison Avenue.

4 blocks north of my office, I looked up from my headphones. There, standing directly next to me was a very tall, very tan Wayne Newton. He was with a female companion that I assumed to be his wife.

I looked at him. Just at that moment, he looked at me and we made eye contact. I didn’t say anything, but my eyes must have clearly belied the fact that I recognized him. He silently nodded, and brought his finger to his lips in the universal symbol for “keep this quiet.” What else could I do? I looked at him and nodded.

We crossed 57th Street together. For the next three blocks, I walked directly next to Wayne Newton, quietly. Every once in awhile, I looked back at him, and he at me, and we’d nod at each other conspiratorially.

At 60th Street, he and his wife turned to walk into FAO Schwartz. He looked at me one more time, waved appreciatively, winked, and saluted as he disappeared into the toystore.

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