A successful weekend.

Nick, my Dad, and myself (as well as various other friends in the local magic club) – took the annual trip to a Magician’s Conclave near Boston. Got to drive through towns with names like FALLMOUTH, names of towns you’d find in Steven King and Lovecraft stories, names of towns with slimy, eldritch creatures, all tentacles and primordial stew laying underneath and dreaming of evil things.

I was mistaken for a celebrity twice.

I, at the last possible minute (and in between lectures and shows) managed to get a treatment done for a novel, for a writing contest I wanted to enter (might post this later).

I also ended up with a gathered crowd magicians, and had them howling laughter at my rendition of the most basic of card tricks (but…in Christopher Walken’s voice). I had no real routine with this…just made it up as I went along (thank God for improv practice!!!). Somehow…word of this fabled “routine” traveled fast through the conclave, and, by the second night, I had a larger crowd (containing some of the actual performing magician’s from the shows) wanting to see. I managed each time and the routine took better and better shape each time. But…I owe part of the success to Walken. You can just say random things in his voice and make them funny. You can stop the trick, mid sleight, and say, “If two zombies fucked………………[long pause here for pre-punch-line laughter, this is important to comedic timing]………………………..would it be necrophilia?” Cue laughter and continue trick.

Still…it seemed weird that all these guys who were many, many times better than me at sleight of hand and card manipulation were so impressed with this. But then…a lot of them have a lot to learn about presentation and performance. It reminded Nick and I of the strengths we did have – the ability to perform and entertain – the ability to work a crowd. We’ve always been able to do that. Sleight of mouth baby!

I really need to sit down and make that mess (funny mess though it is) into an actual routine.

I also, ran into a woman, in the halls, who had 23 year old niece, dieing of cancer, staying with her in the same hotel as us. I worked out getting me (and a group of magicians, some who I knew and some I had just met) to do a little impromptu show for the girl. We just did trick after trick, tagging in and out – sort of like a conveyer belt with cards. She laughed and her family clapped and I’m glad we were there to do it. Though…at times like that you find yourself wishing you could work some real magic. Sleight of hand seems a poor weapon against unfair mortality…but then it had to do.

So now I’m back. Ran with Torrie and Jess and company. Rode around with Torrie to catch up as she was suffering from massive Doetsch withdrawal (we stopped wearing our warning labels…but I’ll have to call Steve and Nick and tell them to put theirs back on). Random cruising is fun, is relaxing. We laughed a lot…but I can’t remember all the things we laughed at.

Tired…time to sleep…