Escorting the City Mayor

 

 At the beginning of the 1990s, I was a university student. I had a part-time job as an actor. Was I a real actor? No, I was acting in costume as a mascot so my face was covered. But acting in costumes was very interesting. It required a skilled technique. I worked very hard as a masked actor.

 One day, I was offered a job at an opening ceremony of a station shopping mall complex in T-city. When I received the timetable of the ceremony, automatically I looked for the climax of the show where I would act.

The timetable said:

“The city mayor says a word of congratulations on the stage. The mascot escorts him to the stage.”

This had to be the climax. In those days, mayors had dignity. They were local celebrities. They were not friendly types. But mascots could act in a friendly way with them. It was good for a mayor’s popularity. I planned to be very friendly to the mayor but not harm his dignity. It could be an interesting performance.

 On the day of the performance, I arrived at the venue too early because I was too eager. I entered a coffee shop to kill time. Then I read a newspaper of the day. The newspaper said:

“The mayor of T-city has been arrested for corruption.”

The mayor whom I supposed to escort had been arrested the day before! My acting plans were all in vain.

When we gathered at the venue, the director briefly announced to us that “the mayor has cancelled the event”. He didn’t explain why.

 At that time, the mayor was probably being escorted by policemen instead of me.

 

Picture by sayz