The Expert & The Novice: True Confessions

                                                         

Some background for the non-magicians reading this... Dai Vernon was one of the greatest magicians you've never heard of.  Born in 1894, he was a "magician's magician," spending the 98 years of his life perfecting his craft to a level rarely (if ever) matched.  His work and influence changed the landscape of modern magic, and today the work of Mr. Vernon is still revered and studied by serious magicians.

Legend has it that he began his magic journey at age 5, absorbing "The Expert at the Card Table" by S.W. Erdnase - a slight, but heady piece on the methods used by professional card cheats, which also included a section of magic tricks.  Complicated stuff for even an adult who works with cards, yet at 5 the child who would become known as the "Professor" made the book his bible, memorizing every page and perfecting every move described.

Vernon was known to say that one of his greatest regrets was "wasting the first 5 years of his life" by not discovering the book and beginning his magic studies sooner.

My path, to say the least, has been somewhat different.  While it is true that I also caught the magic bug at an early age, my introduction came via a magic set I saved cereal box tops for.  I watched every magician who appeared on television, read the handful of magic books in the local library, and eventually cobbled together a "show," consisting of painfully simple tricks which I performed now and again through my college years.

Then came marriage, kids, life, and my obvious lack of commitment to magic.  Yes, I continued to be a fan of the craft, and considered myself a "Historian of Magic," but the truth was that I had placed magic on the sidelines of my life.

 I suppose it's social media that has fired up my interest in magic again.  In the last 8 or 10 years, I went from watching true magicians performing on You Tube to finding my way into the magic community.  I count several talented magicians as my friends, I've read many of the "right books" on the magic arts, and buy tricks that catch my fancy in magic shops and trade magazines.  But if I am completely honest, although I might know a few of the secrets, I've continued to be a kid playing around with magic props in the comfortable, non-judgmental silence of my bedroom, and have never really, REALLY put in the work to become a true magician.

This year I turned 55.  I've wasted 5 decades more than Dai Vernon did, but I'd like to believe it's never too late.  So this is the story of my magic journey, a story that in many ways is only just beginning.  It's not about becoming a famous magician; odds are my biggest accomplishment will probably be doing a trick or two for friends and family. This is really about rediscovering a passion from childhood and seriously committing to it.

The real work begins.

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