My Birthday...

Yesterday I turned 51...
My wife told me it was o.k. for me to do whatever I wanted to do on my birthday...
I worked the weekend which means getting off work at 6 am Sunday morning, and I wanted to go to the Tacoma Magic Rings meeting at 2 pm. My friend Isaac Louie would be lecturing. Isaac is gearing up for his mini lecture tour.
So, that is what I did. I got to bed late, around 8 am, got up at 12:20 pm. (Yes, 4+ hours of sleep) I showered and drove to the Shakabrah cafe. I enjoyed a Denver omelet, it was really good. Isaac arrived and sat with me as I ate. We talked magic. Soon several other magicians arrived and we all moved into the "back room."
There is a nice back room at the Shakabrah Cafe with a stage and lighting. We didn't use the stage, although Isaac did during his lecture. The meeting opened with anyone who wanted to perform something could. I was not going too, I came to support Isaac. And to learn something...
A young boy, about ten years old immediately jumped to his feet, and did a nice sponge ball routine that ended with one of the balls changing into a square. I liked his enthusiasm. Rick asked if anyone wanted to perform. No one offered, He says, "aw, c'mon.. still no takers, so he look at me and says , "C'mon Tim." well, you don't have to twist my arm (That's a whole nother trick!)
I didn't bring any props but a deck or two of cards and some coins. Thinking fast I decided upon a trick simply known as "Card Box." I performed it flawlessly. Or not? Hmm. the fellow I chose to select a card for got his card, and at the revelation said, "no, that's not it."
Good thing I had him show it around before returning it to the deck. He was corrected, and was right with the world! There is a lesson there. Whenever possible, have a spectator show their selected card around. Hey, sometimes they really do forget, I do. But sometimes, the spectator will purposefully lie about their card just to make you look bad. This fellow didn't do that, he just could not remember his card.
Next up was a lady that is a member of my clown alley. Cheryl came to the meeting with another clown alley member named Freddy. That was a nice surprise for me! :)
Cheryl did a nice card trick using animal cards.It was a spelling trick and she did a nice job with it.
Balin The Great performed a nice cups and balls routine... With gloves on. That's a tough act!
Did a nice job though!
Then Rick Anderson took over with a great demonstration of sponge ball magic. Oh my. I have met Rick on only maybe four or five occasions. In fact if you are one of the faithful 3 1/2 readers here, you might recall I ripped on him about entering the parlor contest at Portland Magic Jam.
Rick is one of those guys that enjoys teaching magic. Really. I think I found a kindred spirit. My friend G.G. Green says the same of me. Ricks' sponge ball work was really nice!
Well...
Isaac's lecture was about 30 minutes and it was sad because he was short on time. He had to cram about 45-60 minutes of material into 30 minutes. Not fun.
I liked a couple of his routines, his opener especially. He calls it, Do As I Do Silks. Isaac had some nice thoughts on bill to lemon that I like. Isaac also did some non magical things with a lasso, he had an audience member join him on stage and well, the picture tells some of the story! :)


After the meeting, which ended WAY too soon, Isaac gave me a nice birthday gift. He created a wonderful dvd "Marbles."
He sells them for 15 dollars and it is a bizarre magical effect using a deck of cards and a marble. Isaac, rick and I went over to a restaurant and Rick gave me some lessons on magic!
I really enjoyed spending time with Rick Anderson. He is an "old school" magician.
I think I will try to spend more time learning from him.
His "chops" are top notch.


I got home about 6pm, had to BBQ. Like that ever bothered me! :)
My wife had picked up some Fillet Minon. They were awesome and so is she.
Dinner was excellent as I've grown accustomed too over the years!
After dinner we all had a great discussion about life and consequences, growing up, and owning up. Choices and there affect on us and others around us.
My wife and I opened up to our daughter about some of our "youthful" mistakes, and the costs of them.
The conversation cleared the air nicely.

What a magical day!