Magical Monday --- If Money Grew on Trees

If money really did grow on trees, I think I got a glimpse of what our world might be like. In 2001, I was hired (through my agent) to do a magic show at the Hyatt ballroom in the Pittsburgh airport. All I knew is that I should expect around 400 adults and 100 kids. My show was at 6:00 and I arrived around 5:15 to set up and the place was empty, with the exception of 3 other entertainers (a clown, a juggler, and a comedian) that worked for the same agent as I did. Nobody seemed to know what was going on. The serving staff that had set up for dinner were clueless as to where all the people were as well since they had rented the ballroom and said they would arrive around 4:00.

So we all sat there for another 1/2 hour or so and were about to give up and take off (I had an 8:00 show to get to) when this lady comes in and says the guests would be arriving soon. The family organizing the event was from India and we were told, "It is customary for their culture to arrive late" and we could just shorten our shows to 15 minutes each while people were having dinner. As people began to arrive, so did many other entertainers from my agent (a puppeteer, a caricature artist, a mime, etc). I also noted that the meals being served were top-of-the-line...and from our wedding planning, we knew the base price to have an event there was $55.00 per person. So as the 500 people began to show up, we all started to perform...and as we performed more and more entertainers kept showing up!

After I was done, I went to thank the host and was handed a wad of cash. Even though I only did about 1/4 of my show they gave me more in a tip than the cost of my entire show (and I later found out all the other entertainers got something similar as well). To top it all off, an announcement was made that the band they had flown in from India had arrived with all their instruments. It ended up being a 10-person band!

So to sum up what was going on at this party...my estimates would be:

1) 500 dinners at $100 each = $50,000

2) 20 entertainers at $200 each + $300 tips = $10,000

3) 10 people flown in from India = $15,000

4) 10 instruments flown in from India = $2,000

5) Accommodations for many of the guests = $10,000

6) Miscellaneous (decorations, gifts, etc) = $10,000

TOTAL = $97,000

So why would someone have a $100,000 party? I figured it had to be someones wedding reception (but I saw no bride), or a 50th anniversary (but I saw no guests of honor), or perhaps a lottery winner (but I didn't see Ed McMahon and his prize patrol). So I asked the host what the big celebration was about --- The man throwing the party was a well-known brain surgeon, and this whole thing was for their daughter's FIRST BIRTHDAY! So we must add a number seven:

7) Spending 100 grand on an event your kid will never remember: PRICELESS