(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Weird things happen when you go above 14th Street. We did just that as we followed last night’s protests and, near Times Square, encountered Tom Sierra and his four pet rats, Freddy, Gizmo, George and Gilbert. The Bronx resident told us he’s been entertaining/terrifying tourists with them for over a decade. “I make a living,” he said. And not a bad one, it would seem: last year the Brooklyn-born former computer technician told the West Side Spirit that he made up to $400 a night. We asked “Rat” about the most extreme reaction he’s gotten.
Turns out Rat was being a little shy about what kind of tricks they do. Here’s a YouTube video of him tossing the rodents in the air and stuffing them in his mouth.
Anyway, thanks to these cuties we’ll be a little less freaked out when we see a rat in a movie theater.
