Escape to San Francisco

As I took a picture from the window of my Jeep, a Hells Angel appears from nowhere.

It was difficult to leave Southern California behind with it's amazing people and beautiful beaches. Los Angeles is a city of angels (hells angels?)  and even more a city of kings. (think hockey.)

However, as I crossed the bridge into San Francisco, I marveled at the magical  mysteries in front of me. It is a city like no other, a bay often clouded in mysterious mist, with a history as colorful and rich as the gold which filled the leather satchels of the forty-niners during the gold rush. To this day the song still rings out "open up those golden gate, California here I come."

The city by the bay has a flavor (mostly Chinese) and temperature all its own. It's often said, "the coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco." But even after purchasing a sweatshirt because of an unexpected temperature on July fourth, San Francisco is an easy place with which to fall in love. I've often felt as I do now that, "I left my heart ... in San Francisco." It is beautiful, has amazing food, but I'm sure that living in San Francisco must have it's ups and downs (that's a joke.) I once walked up and down the entire city from downtown to the bay. If you don't have good shoes, and strong legs, take the trolly car.

When I got to San Fran I had two wonderful friends to stay with, Mike and Lisa. Lisa reminded me that we have a tradition for spending the 4th of July together. I'm not sure she recalls our very first, but many years ago, 1998 to be exact,  we were out with her and her boyfriend on 4th of July in Martha's Vineyard, and I was friends with her boyfriend and really didn't know her all that well. After a night of drinks and fun, I told her and my wife at the time, that we needed to go home. She told me, "A, it isn't happening, and 2, you're a f%$#ing @#!hole" So the next day I brought it up jokingly and she was embarrassed about the incident. So in order to defuse any tension, I told her that now because of that, we were going to be friends for life. I figured we had to be friends because she had my number, and it was the number: "2."

Mike and Lisa and new baby.

Mike and Lisa were great hosts, and we spent the 4th of July at a family BBQ. Of course it wasn't over 'til I did a little magic. Then one of the little girls told me that she knew a trick. Of course it was one with 21 cards. (An inside joke for magicians) You see almost everyone in the world that "knows a trick" wants to show you the 21 card trick. So much so that my friend, magician, Jon Racherbaumer, (from an earlier posting) wrote a book dedicated to what to do when someone brings up the 21 card trick,  which is available at H&R Magic Books.

Louie, Louie, Louie, Louieeee

I had a wonderful time and I usually wouldn't complain about anything, but I think this is worth a mention. You see, their dog, Louie, must have had one too many sausages at the BBQ. Seems that he is "sausage intolerant." That dog passed gas sitting next to me that made my eyes water. I had no idea such a cute little guy could be so powerful. I think that Louie would be a great weapon of war because he seems to be filled with deadly gas. However I do believe that I need to switch gears and write about magic, since farting dogs really have nothing to do with magic at all. Unless you need to make an audience vanish, in which case Louie would be a great addition to the show.  Okay back to magic.


I had no idea where I'd meet a magician in San Francisco to interview. But, as fate would have it, when I got there Mike told me that right around their house lies a little magic shop. One of the last of a dieing breed. Most Magic shops have pretty much disappeared from existence because of competition with the online magic sites. But there are still a few spread around the country and this one is called, Misdirections Magic Shop. I thought that I had found my magic connection for San Francisco, as I hadn't really booked a magician to talk to and just  figured that the magic universe would somehow provide one for me. Now I could just walk around the corner and talk to the proprietor about the vanishing magic shops around the country and once again, the death of magic.


But I found that magic was indeed dead. At least July 3rd through 5th, as the shop was closed for the holiday. So much for my theory that the universe was going to provide everything so easily. I decided that I'd have to go down to Fisherman's Wharf and see if I could find a magician working the street. If not then San Francisco could end up being a total bust.
I found a place to park and wandered the streets for a while searching for someone doing magic. Instead I saw and smelled amazing sea food. My search was looking somewhat bleak, as I wanted to get on the road before 3:00 in the afternoon so I would make it to Reno before night fall. I was beginning to think my San Francisco search was a bust, however, it was a beautiful day down at Fisherman's Wharf and I so I stopped in the oldest seafood restaurant in San Fran. It established in 1925, a place called Alioto's, and at least the food was magical. Of course when you are in San Francisco, at the Fisherman's Wharf, there are two things which I believe you should eat. First and foremost, Crab in garlic butter dip and you have to absolutely have some clam chowder. And this is exactly what I did before I continued my search for the elusive San Francisco magician.A delicious meal and I was once more invigorated to find a magician.

Then I saw someone that I just new would point me in the right direction. It was as if the very gold of the gold rush had come to life to show me the way. There he was a shining pedestal of gold. Of course I gave him a dollar and asked him if he knew where I could find a magician performing. "Sure," he replied, "Just go on down to pier 39, you'll find one there." Just as the forty-niners before me I had struck gold.

When I got to pier 39 life was once again shouting, "MAGIC!!" at me. There was a magic shop on location, a theater showing a magician three nights a week, and as I wondered to the back of the pier area, there was the prize, a real live magician performing. His name was ""BIG AL CATRAZ." 

.... next time we talk to Big Al about the death of magic.

Movies, Music, and The Death of Magic

Movies are but an illusion of captured light, still images which create movement due to a trick of the eye and confusion of the brain. Of course it would make sense that one of the earliest movie makers was himself an illusionist. French stage magician, Georges Melies. Melies was not only one of the first feature film creators, he was the first to use "trick" photography in his movies. His very first film was called "Playing Cards" and his first production company was named "Star Film Company." This information is coming to you from a guy who received his magician name, "Ace Star" in this very place, Southern California performing card tricks at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Magician/Musician/Movie Mogul

My visit to Southern California didn't include a trip to Hollywood, a place where I've ventured many times in my life. But Southern California includes many magical places. I was on a mission to find a magician whom I'd known for many years. His name is Tony Maclaren.  He invited me over to his home in Chatsworth, California, a different kind of movie making capital. (for a laugh, look it up.) OK I won't make you look it up. It's the porn capital of the world. So naturally when this old magician/rockstar friend of mine tells me he's making movies and living in Chatsworth, naturally, I have to wonder to myself. (Then he tells me that he may even have a part for me.) Of course as I drove to his home, letting Nelly, my navigation system lead the way, my mind wandered, exploring the possibilities of the magic this interview might conjure up. LOL!!!

However, I was relieved (slightly disappointed) to discover that he is making a feature film called THE FROZEN TUNDRA, which he described to me during our visit. The story is one of a neurotic guy who fears life, who has a sudden journey almost forced upon him and has to learn to deal with his on phobias. (Wow come to think of it, this is sounding familiar)

Tony Maclaren is one of those rare breed of individuals who is extremely blessed with multiple talents. I've found that many magicians are talented musicians as well and have a knack for writing songs. He is very bright and creative beyond belief. He has been a professional guitarist, and an accomplished song writer, as well as a talented conjurer. As a young boy he was a guitar prodigy, and if you ever hear him play, he'll blow you away. If and when I get to interview him on video we are going to get him to play a little guitar for us too.

As most magicians are, Tony was bitten by the magic bug at an early age and began performing magic when he was only 6 years old. I met Tony when he was a working pro magician in Southern California which he has done for quite a few years. So when he told me that he had finally given up on magic to produce, write and direct movies, I was quite taken aback. The fact that this life long magician would now leave his life's work, was one of the most surprising things I've heard during this amazing journey. Then when he told me why, I was even more astounded and I admit somewhat depressed. You see he told me, "Magic is dead."

From a guy who has been in the magic business for more years than me, that was a seriously depressing remark. What another of my interviews, Jon Racherbaumer, had mentioned was that he believed was a change in  the culture of magic, was now coming out of Tony's mouth as "the death of magic." And after listening to his rational, I was almost ready to agree with him. IS MAGIC DEAD????

For you, the non-magicians, things may appear to be the same. But to the working professional, the world of magic has changed dramatically. When Tony began magic, it was an art which had to be studied and almost revered in order for one to participate in it's realm. Now with the world of Internet, cable TV, and YouTube, the world of magic has been turned upside down. Today anyone with a cellphone can immediately go online and search for the trick which they have just seen performed. And usually they will discover that its secret is readily available for a simple click. Why are kids who learn a trick these days so quick to jump on the Internet and reveal the secret? I'm not sure what they derive from it? Is it is an ego boost for them or something. But they are doing this over and over. Here, I'm going to give you an example:

This is a simple trick and I'm not certainly on  to reveal tricks, so it pains me to even put this on the blog. But this is a well known trick that was easy to master once the secret was known. However, it is so sad to me that some kid goes to all the trouble to put the very secret to a trick he didn't create, and probably learned by watching a video like this in order to somehow gain recognition he so craves.

A long time ago I decided not to put my own magic on the Internet. Years ago, I invented a couple of sleights which were very magical and back then I decided to put them on YouTube. It was a matter of hours and the postings began about how to possibly do the trick, as if I was looking for them to solve a puzzle. So I quickly took them off. It wasn't that the posters had even figured out what I was doing, but that for some reason, they saw my video as a challenge to come up with and post the solution, which of course it wasn't at all. I just wanted to share the magic feeling that they should derive out of seeing the impossible accomplished.  If magic is performed as a challenge to the audience then it's true magic is lost.

When I asked Tony if he'd perform something original to me to video tape for the blog, he politely said no. Without considering my own policy, I'd asked him to do that very thing I was against. He told me that their was no point to putting things on the Internet for others to run over and over again, in order to discover its secret. "For what purpose?" he asked, "so they could then post the secret to show how smart they are?" He told me in his last days of being a working professional magician that he would quit whenever he saw someone recording him with a phone. Is this what magic has come to?

If it's not the YouTube wanna be magicians aren't enough to make one think that magic is over, working magicians have another real problem. He is that guy who calls himself, THE MASKED MAGICIAN. We all know him, and quite frankly he disgusts me.

Sawing a lady illusion I built by hand.

I'll tell you why. Many magicians are making a living doing small shows, trade shows, even birthday parties. These guys don't have a nine to five with health insurance, and for the most of them, they don't make a lot of money. So to improve the show, a guy like me will build or buy a small illusion, such as sawing a lady in half. Time money and effort go into making this a valuable part of the show. An illusion like that may cost him $5000 or even more. For most of us, that is a major investment. But, once the masked magician puts how to do it on his show, that illusion is nothing more than a box with a couple of mirrors. Kids who used to stare wide eyed in amazement now yell, "I know that one! It's a mirror! Right there, look everyone he's a fake!!"

For another magician to reveal the secrets of magic to kids, is the equivalent of running through a toy store at Christmas time and yelling, "Santa isn't real! He's your parents! Don't fall for it kids, your parents put that stuff under the tree."  What is the point of taking that magical feeling away from them. For any of you who are a parent, please don't take that magic away. Let them discover the magic in life.

Ghosts, Vampires and Voodoo

A Gentleman and Scholar

Along with the jazz and party atmosphere of New Orleans, are the stories of ghosts in haunted cemeteries, of vampires walking amongst the night, and of voodoo witches who can work their magic on you. None of which would compare with the pure mystical power demonstrated by a magician who calls this mysterious place his home. His name is Jon Racherbaumer. And my meeting with him was mystical, magical, and more than I had imagined.

Jon is one of those magicians which can blend into the scenery, but he has those clues which to the trained eye, identify him as different, as someone special, even someone with extraordinary abilities. First he dresses in black - often a tell tale sign of a magician. When I asked him about if it were some mystical or magical thing, he disarmingly stated, "I started wearing black, because I could never decide which colors went together. I'm just glad you can buy the black underwear to go with it."

I believe that Jon is without a doubt "the expert" on card magic. Even though Jon and I have known one another for a while, for me to perform a card trick in front of him makes my hands shake. To me it's like "trying to do algebra in front of Einstein." We met years ago (when I looked much older) both of us sporting the gray pony tailed look. I drove to his home and when he first greeted me, of course he noticed my change, and we started our discussion with a talk about haircuts and Just For Men beard dye. This was probably the best illusion I was going to do the entire afternoon. But when Jon and I began to talk about "the magic life" he was simply amazing. Jon grew up in a truly historical time for magicians. We talked about the change in culture amongst magicians.

You see, when we started in magic, both Jon and I learned from books and if we could find them, other magicians. Today magicians are really spoon fed from the likes of readily available DVD's and Youtube videos. A couple of clicks and you've downloaded what took years for us to find and read. Well I should say some of us learned from books, and some of us wrote those books. Jon wrote 72 books on magic so far, (mostly on cards) and amongst magicians he is famous for his works. His personal library of magic books is the most impressive I've seen so far in my life.

I wanted to talk with Jon, not about magic and tricks, although we spent hours talking cards, but I wanted to talk about the real magic in life, about life's challenges and mysteries. He opened up to me and we talked about his relationships over the years. Jon has been married three times, he has 7 children and 10 grand children. I can tell what his priority in life is because when his phone rang during my interview, he said, "I don't have to take that unless it's one of my kids."

Jon and I discussed how magicians look at life differently and always look for more information. Magicians are curious by nature. Something about learning that there are secrets behind those things we call illusions lead us magicians to search for those secrets behind the mysteries and the problems or puzzles which life presents to us. Jon told me something quite interesting, which he was told by a former CIA agent. He said, ninety percent of the decisions we make, both large and small are made with insufficient information. All of us, from the President making earth impacting decisions, to you and I deciding which toothpaste to buy. He believes magicians at least take the search for information one step farther because we are skeptical from the start. Jon believes we have an obligation to research our questions thoroughly before making our decisions.

Magicians are almost always infected by what we refer to among us as "the bug." It is the moment that we see that magic trick for the first time that just blows our mind and suddenly we are thrown into the realm of being haunted by not knowing the secret. For Jon he was in the right place at the right time. When he was about ten years old, he saw a magician perform some miraculous illusions in Elmhurst, Illinois. Little did he know that that magician turned out to be the father of the magic encyclopedia (which to this day is a hall mark of magician's education). His name was Harlan Tarbell and his seven volume course on magic written in 1928 became a standard. Jon received the first autographed, volume of the Tarbell Course in Magic, encyclopedia as a kid, and was at that time, injected with the magic virus. He has had a bad case of magicianitus ever since. He showed me some of the results of his almost obsessive studies of the paste boards.

Years later he discovered, as I did, that asking a magician "how do you do that?" was pretty much forbidden. It not only branded you as an amateur, it was in bad form. Magicians then, simply said, "where did you find that?" or if you couldn't find it, or eventually figure out how something was done, you hoped you had something good enough of your own to trade.

Jon was lucky in that respect because he learned much of his magic in a totally different way, one which shaped him into the magician he is today. One magician asked Jon to write his tricks into a book, and after much cajoling, Jon agreed to do it, and a defining moment of his life took shape. Jon learned many of the tricks of his trade by writing books about magic for other magicians.

Quite frankly, I found this leaning method quite a trick in itself. It's no wonder the man is so skilled. Describing a magic trick in writing, especially something involving sleight of hand, is extremely difficult and time consuming. To do it well takes a certain knack for creating and expressing details. This may well be why Jon has been so successful, his attention to details. But also the mere act of writing the trick up for students of the craft, would include learning the trick far better than any student ever would be able. Even today, finding new magic sometimes involves the old fashioned, meeting with other magicians.

As I've stated before, there is just something about a magician which others in the profession or even amateurs can somehow perceive or identify. Perhaps the way they dress (black underwear?) or the way they seem to hold objects in their hands, but there is something about them. When Jon and I went from his home to go have a bite at a local pub, before we practically set down, a young man came up to our table from across the restaurant and asked, "Are you guys magicians?" We both answered, "yes" and Jon told him to come back after we had lunch and we'd talk tricks with him.

His name was Andrew. Andrew was actually studying to be a chef, but he was still bitten by the magic bug. I could see it in his eyes. He had the same eager look which I had when I was young and hungry to find more and more magic. Jon and I shared some tricks with Andrew and I certainly enjoyed Andrew's positive participation in the conversation. I could see his amazement when Jon did certain tricks and could tell that Andrew was dying to ask that age old question, "How did you do that." But I think that the magic culture hasn't changed much in that respect over the years as he only asked for our autographs. I'm sure he had no idea who I was, but he no doubt had heard of Jon.

As for me, I've learned that when you get older and have done magic for what seems like a hundred years, you never even find yourself finding anything which prompts that feeling of "how did you do that?" However, Jon did bring that to me once during this meeting. And unlike our young friend still bound by a brotherhoods conventions, I said "Jon, tell me how you did that one thing where you?" And he did. LOL Older does have it's advantages.

A Magical Cat in Orlando

Sometimes you get the magic, sometimes the magic gets you. As my big black jeep and I hit the Florida turnpike I had the probability of meeting a magician who worked in Orlando. Even Mickey Mouse seemed to foretell a magical meeting as even at the rest stop there was his statue with "share the magic" written below. Orlando wreaks of "magic" you can practically smell the magic in the air. Actually that's the burnt gunpowder from a dozen different fireworks shows that seem to appear nightly in and around The Magic Kingdom. But my trip to this city, in which magic itself resonates, was not to meet a conjuror of sorts. (Even though his credit card said "magic" on it.) And fortunately for me it made dinner and a couple of drinks appear. Let me explain.

The word magic, has magic in it.

Years ago when I first penned The Magic Life I put the chapters on the Internet one at a time, in a newsgroup for writers. At that time the book wasn't even called The Magic Life, but rather The Magic One.

There were no clever "maxims" at the beginning of each chapter, and the dream sequences weren't even in the book. For those of you who read the hard copy version, it would be quite a different book. However there were many for whom the book still resonated and they wrote to me telling me so.

One such person was a guy named "Tim Roebuck." He was 25 at the time and living in Virginia Beach. If you own the book, you'll see he has his comments included on the back cover. He said,  

"You have given a gift. Your words of encouragement and hope, intricately woven into a well structured novel, enraptured me. It was very entertaining, while pulling on the very core of existence. ...Thank you for your gift."

An original "magic lifer."

Tim and I have kept in touch over the year,s as I have with a few of the early readers, who have watched the book come from such humble beginnings to be so well received. Well when I proposed this trip, Tim, was one of the first to contact me with a generous offer to come stay at his home in Orlando. So after I re-routed my trip, I said that I'd love to meet him after all these many years. Here is a guy that I've never met and really only had a dozen contacts with over 15 years and when I met him, within minutes I felt as though we had been old friends for many years.

Angi the cute and sweet bartender.

Tim took me out and knowing my reputation, it was to a place which made amazing margaritas. He must have also known my preference for cute bartenders as he seemed to have supplied that also. I sat with Tim and discussed many magical things in life. He told me as if I were his true confident of the many trials which he as been through over the years and as he did it became evident why I found myself with this "magic lifer." I was there for a reason.

So many times in my magic life, I find myself being drawn to people who are having self doubt about following their passions. I asked Tim if he had ever imagined, when he read my manuscript so many years ago, if he would ever in his wildest dreams sitting across from his table drinking morning coffee. I was surprised at his answer. He said, "actually I knew we'd meet someday."

Two future millionaire entrepreneurs

Well, I realized at that moment that it was he who manifested this reality. And in truth "he" simply asked me to come see him. Imagine me finding a reader who read the book 14 years ago and now finds he needs the advice more than ever. Tim, who works for Deloitte and Touche, was having doubts about starting his own photography business. And believe me, he is a great photographer.

I tried to give him some solid advice about following his dreams, to take it slow and ease himself into that direction as he could afford the time and money. But to be sure and take the extra effort that it requires to move that direction. And to start now. The happiness he received as reward would be worth the work.

World's softest cat

But then I was doubly surprised to see his wife, Lisa, was also starting a business and had just put up a website. The product pictures were fantastic, one with their cat, (who is just as soft as the blankets) and of course her husband had taken them. I helped her a little with the website and I absolutely loved her product. They are these amazingly soft personalized baby blankets. She has an amazing eye and touch for the fabric. You touch them and want to snuggle them. Please check them out if you have a baby or someone who does. Or even if you have a cat that want's one. I know I'll be getting one of these for someone on this trip. They are simply magical and so are these two "magic life" people.

Of course I couldn't leave without performing a little of the other kind of magic. Tim and Lisa's girls really enjoyed seeing two rubber bands pass through each other and of course my fave, the kings and queens card trick. Tim did video tape it, so hopefully I'll have it on here soon.

A Glance into Glancey

Two wizards and a magician walk into a bar. the first wizard say's, "watch this" and he waves his wand and three drinks appear in front of them. He points his wand to the next wizard and states, "your turn."
The second wizard responds "Ok, watch this." He waves his wand and the three drinks disappear. Both wizards then point their wands at the magician, who suddenly turns into a duck. The duck looks up at them and says, "You bastards just stuck me with the bill again, didn't you."

If you sat down next to a wizard you might realize it, but the magician somehow blends into the scenery. At least in Key West, where such characters abound, they do. Here are three men sitting at a bar and one of them is the magician. The others are wizards in their own right, but I doubt they can turn the magician into a duck.

His name is Tim Glancey, he is the one in the hat, not the top hat, but the one in the loud shirt, who looks as though he's hiding a coin or something in his right hand. Tim has had an amazing magic life and I have had a true opportunity to have crossed his path with mine.

I met Glancey while I was attending Boise State University, studying theater. He got me my first restaurant job at the Grizzly Bear Pizza parlor, doing table to table magic. He introduced me to other magicians and many, many sleights and tricks. I ran into him years later in Las Vegas at a magician's convention and he'd been doing magic all over the country, at the time he was living and working in Orlando, Florida.

Tim, was the original magician for the Orlando magic, which considering the position was a miracle in and of itself. When the Orlando Magic first announced that their name was to be "the magic," a thousand magicians quickly shot them a proposal and resume. Tim told me he was different. He camped at their doorstep. When he finally got a chance to meet with them and introduced himself as a magician, they said, "We aren't that kind of magic." And he off the top of his head replied, "Well I'm not that kind of magician."

"Well, what kind of magician are you then?"

"I do team sports magic." 

And at that moment the concept of "Team Sports Magic" was born. He told me that he was just shooting from the hip. He envisioned and eventually created someone pulling a basketball from a briefcase. From then on Tim developed the sports team magic program which created an intimate relationship with a sports arena audience to get them involved. He told me that the principle was to bring the person in the back of the crowd into the show as he would a person watching him do a close-up trick. How does one do that? You might ask. How can you personally connect with an enormous crowd.

If you've ever been to a game where someone shoots a tee-shirt into the audience with and air cannon, then you can thank this magician. While creating this concept of team sports magic, he came up with that idea and invented the way to get a tee shirt, Nerf ball, etc, into the hands of a person yelling and screaming from twenty rows up.

I had the pleasure once again of watching Tim perform some of his close-up magic that night. I was absolutely dumbfounded by a simple little illusion. He pulled a match from a pack of matches, lit it, held it in his hand and it changed into a silver dollar. I don't mean it looked like it changed. It was a match one moment and a dollar the next instant, with smoke still rising from it's edge. Tim later shared with me that simple magic is always the best.

Tim has lived a life of a magician, from time to time it's hard like most lives can be. But he told me that he has never filled out a job application in his life and knows that security for him is an illusion. But his security has been that he could walk into a restaurant if he needed and would tell the manager, let me perform tonight and see if it works for both of us. Within 30 minutes the manager would be asking, "how much do you charge to do this." He has managed to work, travel and live life as a magician, relying on his skills and abilities to make others happy.

I sat with Tim and talked about life and the magic moments he has had throughout his. He calls them "click" moments. The time he closed up his magic shop and headed for Orlando, the door went "click." I like to call them "defining moments." Those moments that change the direction of your life, they define your life. The moment that Tim said the words "I do team sports magic" for example was a defining moment a "click" in Tim's life. 

When I asked him what the most amazing thin he has ever done, he didn't tell me about making a dragon appear in a box hanging a hundred feet in the air, or sawing a woman in two. No, he told me about a time he surprised his girlfriend by getting some of her relatives to come make a surprise visit. It made him relive that magic moment and he teared up with tears of joy. We talked about so many things, magical things, amazing things. I know that this old friend of mine, this magic mentor, who has taught so many and helped so many others get their lives on track, does know the difference between real magic, and those things a magician does with cards.

Live the magic, my magician brother!

Key West - The Magic Begins

When I think of Key West it brings to mind, some marvelous imagery, as well as conjuring up foggy rum soaked memories of fantasy fests gone by. The farthest southern point of the US, it is more than snorkel trips, sunset cruises, and restaurants where chickens scratch at your feet. It is a mysterious island filled with hidden secrets. Beyond the delicious taste of a cool slice of key lime pie, and the palm trees split by a serene sunset, most of all, it is a place filled with characters. As though Hemingway himself had provided background and filled this tourist town with his own eclectic creations. It is in this very place indeed where he staggered down to a local bar, to challenge a friend to a drinking contest or boxing match. The saloons still echo his bygone bravado,with names such as Sloppy Joe's, Captain Tony's, or The Schooner Warf, they are a magnet to the often loud, wrinkled, liver ravaged, pirates which wander Duval Street in search of a drop of the magic which fortunately this wonderful, eye-opening, island can provide.

My search for magic began with my own christening as I finished packing the Jeep. The very last thing after everything was packed was to take out the leftover groceries from my refrigerator to give to a friend. When I did the bottom of the bag fell out and a half bottle of Cabernet went pouring down my shorts, ran down my right leg, soaked into my white gym sock and pretty much dyed my white tennis shoe instantly. My trip was going to begin as random as my life, like the man who is picked to be a spy simply because he has "one red shoe."

Battery's Charged - A Metaphor For My Life?

Ok I'm working my ass off packing. pfffft.. yeah right, I'm having a vodka drink. But I have had a "heluva" day.. I love that word "helava" don't you. OK, I will be on my journey tomorrow come "helorhi" water. See how I worked that in there.. clever huh?

But I did want you to know that I'm already over budget, thanks to my dead battery. First I tried to get a friend of mine to help me jump the jeep, but he unfortunately was out of town. (yeah right) So after debating what to do I flagged a guy about to park in the garage down, and asked if he'd help me jump my car.

I'm so glad at this moment that this wasn't New York. In New York he would have said something like, "Do I look like triple A?" Of course I would have replied, "No you look like you're either a member of AA, or you're no doubt single aye?" And of course this would have lead to a scuffle in which we'd end up long life drinking buddies. Because that's just the way I am.

I digress. So in my Miami Beach garage the guy says simply, "Do you have cables?"

So yes he gave me a jump.. ladies, I don't need to hear the obvious jokes at this point, even though this is Miami Beach. So I get the car started and drive to the nearest auto parts store. After a battery check, it is determined that my battery needs a funeral. So $140 later and a little sweat, and I'm back on track. Now I need to get this puppy filled.. oh wait I'm talking about the jeep, not my vodka drink.

And So it Begins...

Ever notice that when you are about to do something great, all of the sudden life puts obstacles in front of you. Not that this trip is going to be something great, but I really have to laugh. I'm trying to get my stuff organized, and packed this morning, so that I can leave tomorrow. Well I need a wrench so that I can take my magic table apart. I haul one load out to the jeep, jump in and give the key a turn.. well here is the result.

Packing Day

One of Life's True Wonders - Roller Blades

So much to do before I go on my journey. I'm going to miss South Beach. It truly has been magical. (see photo at left) But I digress.

I wish I were truly magic as I'd just snap my fingers and everything would be packed and loaded in my Jeep. But no, I have to slog it all down the hall and along the half mile journey to the garage where it is parked. Living in a condo in Miami Beach does have it's disadvantages, but then I have to remind myself, I live in a condo in Miami Beach. Well, so far some of the schedule is already presenting it's problems. Along with the minor hassles that come with things like this, my video on my camera that I planned to use doesn't seem to be working. And one of my stays has already canceled on me.


But not to worry, I can always use my Iphone or Ipad. But for certain, we're going to need some video along the way. What if I pick up two hot women hitch hiking in short shorts? I know you guys will want to see that right. .. yeah in my dreams. But really what about the magic? Don't worry I'm sure we'll find it as soon as we start looking. But for today I'm going to share something that I think is just weird. Take a look at this video, and those of you who are old enough, shake your heads in disbelief. You've got to wonder about life when you see this. Think of how really crazy life is. Does it really have any meaning at all? Or is it just some random occurrences which have no pattern, no meaning and certainly no justification for being?

Makes me go hmmmmmm? 

The Journey Begins..in search of life's magic.

THE MAGIC LIFE JOURNEY 

Boxing the US in 6 weeks.

There is magic all around us, people who do amazing things every day. Magicians in all walks of life; they can be standing in line next to you at a grocery store, sitting next to you on in a bar, crossing the street in front of your car, and you wouldn't know it, unless of course you are one of them. It's almost like a true life Harry Potter story where magician's live in one world and muggles (like most people) live in another, completely different reality.

They have their own set of standards and a code of secrecy which binds them beyond their powers. They dedicate themselves to knowledge of their craft with an obsessive passion.They often gather in large groups and small, to test their skills and learn from the most powerful.

Magicians are given a rare opportunity to peek behind the curtain and see the workings of the wizard in this marvelous world. Though their magic is universal, they have their own unique language, they talk of patters, palms, and prestos. To another magician they are easily spotted amongst the crowd, yet to you they are undefinable, invisible; becoming visible only when they wish to be seen. And they are an exclusive secret club to which the only required membership is a completely different way of thinking about life.

Over the couple months ahead, I'm going to travel the US and Canada, in search of those wondrous wizards. These amazing people who have figured out the true secret and meaning of this magic life. We are going to explore the lives of all magic life magicians, not simply those skilled in the art of conjuring, but those excelling in the art of life. If you are one of us, true magician brothers and sisters, and you know the true secrets of which I'm speaking, I want to meet you, talk with you about your life, your magic life, and let my viewers glance behind our curtain.