Laughter in the dark

In the coming days, many stories will be told.  Here is one.

In the 1970s a friend was working as a taxi driver in New York City.  One evening he picked up Robin Williams at Lincoln Center and drove him to a midtown hotel.  All the way down Broadway Williams kept up a monologue, riffing on the traffic, the pedestrians, the shop signs, the music on the radio.  The driver nearly had several accidents because he was laughing so hard.  When they arrived, Williams handed him a fifty-dollar bill.

"Mr. Williams, I can't take your money," the driver said.  "You just did a show for me."

But his passenger insisted.  "I know how hard you guys work," he said.

Then he was gone.