I am really a nice guy!

I am totally against bullies, ruffians and swaggerers who would terrorize or threaten people weaker than themselves.

I am adamantly against slavery of any sort. I completely support the ASPCA in their fight against animal cruelty.

I am for Benevolent Capitalism and I support Labor in its quest for a decent workplace.

Yet, I have a terrible confession to make.

It requires the telling of an incident that occurred last week. Here goes!

My friend Ed arrived from Florida. He just loves New York, "The Big Apple." He is content in West Palm Beach, but he misses the excitement of Gotham. This is the third year he stayed with me in his quest for three days of fun, culture, good food and NYC atmosphere.

It is good for me also as it gets me into doing things I enjoy. In three days we traveled to SoHo, the Angelika theater, the West Village, the Cloisters and Arthur Avenue (the Bronx). The "Crowning Jewel" of his stay was two tickets to see Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. A sad play, winner of the Tony Award with a great cast. (Brian Dennehy and Vanessa Redgrave).

The tickets displayed a 7 p.m. curtain raising. Most plays start at 8 p.m. We took the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) from Hicksville and ate at "The Dervish," a Turkish restaurant on 47th Street. The play we were informed would last four hours and 15 minutes, with two intermissions. Wow! We could expect to be home at 1:00 a.m. At 1 a.m. the LIRR is less than fun.

The performance was wonderful! Standing ovations, etc.

When we exited the theater at 11:15 p.m., no Yellow Taxicabs were available. We were both dead tired but we had to get to Penn Station.

And now - My shame!

On a lark, I approached a Pedi-Cab driver and asked for his fee to transport Ed and me to 34th Street and Seventh Avenue. He was sitting on his bicycle with two seats in the rear. He quickly said - "$15." We looked at each other, nodded and jumped into the back of the "vehicle."

I remembered "Gin-Rickshaws" in China as a fifth-grader in my geography books. This was my first time riding in a car with "human-powered energy."

The driver was very pleasant and very safety conscious. Every intersection was approached cautiously and with intelligence. We were truly enjoying our trip to Penn Station.

He asked us (as cab drivers do) what show we had seen. When we told him, he stated his name was O'Neill, too, and he spelled it the same way as Eugene O'Neill. He said there were three ways to spell O'Neill - O'Neal - O'Neil. Interesting. He told us he loves the freedom of his job! Interesting.

Most Yellow Cab drivers in New York are not native-born, but he said most of the Pedi-Cab drivers were. Interesting.

We arrived safely and quite refreshed at Penn Station.

We each handed Mr. O'Neill a $10 bill as payment.

A "New York Experience" that neither of us had planned.

It was not exploitation of another human being!

It was not demeaning!

We felt a slight tinge of guilt, but we both got over it.

Mr. O'Neill was just another New Yorker trying to make a living!