A 50th birthday party
This past Saturday afternoon, I was relaxing at a local playground/splash pad with my son when I received a somewhat panicked text message from a fellow magician friend in Ottawa. He had a strolling magic gig that night that he couldn't attend and was desperate to find a replacement. I volunteered happily. Now this created a mild panic for me because I knew that, in about four hours time, I was expected to be dressed to the nines and doing card tricks in an Italian restaurant 150 km away. Quite frankly, I looked like a slob that afternoon in the playground. I hadn't shaved in a week, my hair was a nightmare, and my sinuses' ongoing love affair with hay fever season was threatening to derail the whole thing. But hey, I'm an optimist. I brought my son home, had a quick shower and shave, and then came to a frightening realization – I hadn't done a strolling magic show in three years. Ever since COVID started, all my shows have been stage shows. There was, for the most...