81.5a

“How to Fit $2 Million Into a Bag.” Article-interview by William Safire. New York Times, 16 February, A19. Safire quotes Frank Sinatra on the impossibility of getting $2 million in money into an attaché case. Sinatra added that if it could be done, he would give Safire that amount. When Mailer read of it, he contacted Safire and explained in precise terms how it was possible to get $2,012,000 in $100 bills into a Samsonite attaché case, 12 x 15 x 5 inches deep. Mailer did this with pieces of paper cut to the size of bills. Safire said that now Sinatra owed Mailer $2 million. Mailer replied. “You collect and we’ll share. Frank and I have the same problem. We’re victims of our own hyperbole.”