After my first year of college, my uncle and I went to a small magic convention that summer in Reading, PA. At the end of the convention, they were having a magic auction --- however, many of the convention attenders had left before the auction began, so there were probably only 30 people around when it came time for the auction.
One of the magicians who had stuff for sale at the auction was George Reiger. Some of you may have heard of him as the "Disney tattoo guy" as he has EVERY Disney character ever created tattooed on his body (and continues to add them when new ones are created). He has over 2,000 tattoos in all, including all 101 Dalmatians on his back. He is both a magician and carpenter, and has even built a "Disney house". If you are ever in Bethlehem, PA, you can actually go on a "meet the Disney Tattoo guy tour" and see his tattoos and house. Julie, have you ever heard of him? His website... http://www.disneytattooguy.com/
Anyways, I was able to purchase a zig zag illusion (pictured above) from the auction that George built for only $150.00 (buy it new from a magic dealer would run anywhere from $3000-$5000). The trick can work different ways, and with this particular design I had to use an assistant that was tall and slender.
Growing up I would always have "neighborhood shows" where the kids and some adults from the neighborhood would gather to check out some of my new tricks. One of the girls in the neighborhood that was tall and slender was Kristen, who was probably 14 at the time. So I got my friend Steve from the neighborhood to round up everyone for one of the neighborhood shows to check out some of the things I got at the convention (including the new zig zag illusion). I told him to make it 1/2 hour so I had time to teach Kristen what she needed to do.
So Kristen and I go to the house and start to practice. I put her in the box, push the blades through, take out the center piece, and the trick gets jammed. When I say "jammed", I mean it would not budge! She was completely stuck in 3 pieces and no matter what I did, there was no way for me to put her back together again (kind of like Humpty Dumpty).
I would need my dad's assistance to help me get her out, but unfortunately he wouldn't be home from work for 1/2 hour or so. Kristen graciously agreed to remain in 3 pieces until he returned home. In the meantime, many of the neighborhood kids began showing up at the house. Even though they didn't see how Kristen got into that position, they were quite amazed at what they saw. Of course they all wanted to see me "put her back together again", but that was not possible. Since all the kids in our neighborhood played together, 5:00 was pretty much the standard time everyone went to dinner, so at 5:00 they all left. It was pretty funny as I attempted to hold the phone up to Kristen's head as she tried to explain to her parents why she would be late for dinner. Eventually my dad came home, and after laughing about it for quite some time, he busted a few pieces (which were later fixed) and got her out.
So why was this blog called "real magic"? From this event, something amazing happened. Find out tomorrow in Part 2 in "Time-Warp Tuesday". Here is a picture of George the Disney Tattoo guy and some of his 2,000+ tattoos...
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