HARRY: I love Broadway theater. The bright lights, the actors, music. Give my regards to Broadway. But as much as I love seeing Broadway shows, they do cost a lot of money. This is a great place where you can buy tickets at a discount for the next performance. Hey, that's on my list of things I want to see. Wow, that's a hot ticket. I better get in line.
Excuse me is this the end of the line?
MAN #1: No, sir, it's way down there. All the way down.
HARRY: Have you been waiting long?
WOMAN #1: No, we just got here, too.
HARRY: Is the line moving quickly?
WOMAN #1: We just got here.
HARRY: This line is certainly moving slowly. How many people are in front of us?
MAN #2: A lot man. A lot.
HARRY: Duh. Was that guy in front of us or did he sneak in? Because if he snuck in then you tell him that that's just not very nice.
MAN #2: No, I think he was there.
HARRY: The ticket booth closes at six o' clock. That's in twenty-one minutes, and I hope I can get to the head of the line before all the tickets are sold out.
How fast do you think this line's moving?
WOMAN #2: Not fast enough!
HARRY: If I can make it to the window before it closes I get to see a Broadway show at a bargain price. Maybe. Then again I could cross the street and see a movie that starts in a few minutes. Guaranteed. My problem is that if I wait too long I may not get a chance to do either.
People, this line would move a lot faster if you had your money out. OK? Thank you for your cooperation. It's greatly appreciated.
I told them how to make the line move faster.
WOMAN #3: Yeah, I heard.
HARRY: This line is moving so slowly. I need a way to figure out how fast this line is moving. If it isn't moving fast enough I can't get my ticket, and I should just go to the movies now. Is it just me or does it seem like this line is moving slowly?
WOMAN #4: It's moving extremely slowly.
HARRY: That's what I thought.
I'm going to time how long it takes to walk from here to there. Across one sidewalk square.
Oh excuse me.
WOMAN #4: What time is it?
HARRY: Five minutes. Well, it's moving. Slowly, but it's moving. Wait a second, if it took five minutes to cross one sidewalk square. Then all I need to do is figure out how many more sidewalk squares there are between here and the ticket window. One, two, three, four. OK, there are four sidewalk squares left. If the line keeps moving at the same speed: five minutes per sidewalk square, then five minutes times four sidewalk squares is twenty minutes, and that's not fast enough. The window closes in fifteen minutes. Next time I'll come earlier. This time I'm off to see a movie.