The old fat man with the gold front teeth leans back in his wooden chair at the nearby laundromat. For two hours he yells into the phone in Russian, and laughs like Jabba the Hut: "Gho-ho-ho-ho."

During one of his few breaks, he lumbers over and attempts conversation.

"Izzz very hot today."

Yes, it is.

"But izzz not as hot as they said it would be."

No, it's not.

"Gho-ho-ho-ho."