Just a suggestion for the next time to make it a little more
dramatic. Have the TV host put a lighted cigarette in his lips and
crouch behind the table so that only his head is above the table
top. Of course he should be facing sideways, so Marty can nail the
cigarette without smacking the guy's face. Then with the first ball
Marty extinguishes the cigarette, and with a second ball the
cigarette is knocked out of the guy's lips. Sort of William Tell
version of the trick.

--- In hardbat@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Palgon" <robertpalgon@...>
wrote:
>
> Marty just called and advised that the show has been taped and that
he
> was on his way to have dinner with Tony Ettinger of the Fortress
> Investment Group as well as with former Madison Square Garden and
HBO
> Sports executive Seth Abraham. After dinner, they all plan to watch
> the broadcast of the Letterman show at the Naked Ping Pong party
being
> held tonight in Marty's honor.
>
> Asked how his appearance went, Marty was incredulous: "Did you
really
> doubt I would nail that cigarette on my first try??" I responded
> that it was unimportant what I thought; more interesting to know is
> what he thought as he waited to perform.
>
> "Honestly," he said, "I was a bit apprehensive. Normally if I
miss, I
> can make up for it with my play, but here I was asked to do just the
> one thing, so there was a certain amount of pressure. But I settled
> down and knew I was home free when the cigarette, the ball, and the
> racquet no longer appeared to me as three separate things, but
rather
> became as one. Once I made this 'connection' mentally, I knew I
> could not miss."
>
> Marty went on to say, "Nothing went amiss in the whole appearance --
> everyone was congratulatory and gracious, and I couldn't have been
> more pleased with how things came off. It got me to thinking if I
can
> have such a good time, and be paid similarly a minimum of $1000 per
> minute for such an appearance, why that would mean $60,000 per hour,
> 1/2 million dollars per 8-hour day, 15 million dollars per month,
300
> million per annum, and probably billions over my lifetime, even
> discounting an afterlife."
>
> "Actually," he continued, switching tracks, "there was a small
matter
> that came up unexpectedly during the taping that required an
> accomodation. I had to alter what I expected to wear as a result
of a
> black curtain that was being used as a backdrop for the action. In
> order to be seen to advantage, I had to shift to white silk slacks
> rather than black -- a small, but necessary accomodation. And, oh
> yes, I should note that after considerable deliberation, I finally
> came down on the side of white sox for the occasion. Mind you, I
> still went with the red Italian silk shirt, the red sneakers, and
the
> black belt with the basic,inconspicuous buckle."
>
> At this point, I congratulated him, thanked him for this information
> and hung-up, wondering what other rabbits he would next draw out
from
> his ever-present, signature Panama hat.
>
> Bob Palgon
>