Mike’s Famous Magic Show

When I was fourteen I discovered magic. It started out with a couple of card tricks, but then it escalated fast. I found a magic store a few towns over and bought what I could with what money I had. And when I didn’t have the money I simply made the equipment myself. This is my story about Mike’s Famous Magic Show!

The first ever card trick I learned I learned from my Uncle Butch. He performed the card trick at my house when I was young and I could not believe how utterly magical it was. I had to know how he did it. So I simply hounded him all afternoon until he showed me the secret. I now possessed one trick and craved more. I went to my local library and checked out every book I could find on magic tricks. I had my dad drive me to the magic store and I secured a few more card tricks with my own money. Book after book, I slowly slipped into this magical world in my mind. The library books unleashed so many creative magic tricks that I had to learn and practice. Because at some point, I don’t know when, I had decided that I was going to host my very own magic show in my driveway.

Preparation for this event was massive. I had tricks to master. I had tricks to build. I had more magic books to read. I decided I would need two months to prepare and then announce the show to the public. I remember building The Amazing Hiding Box. I found the schematics for making it in one of the books. Essentially, it was a small wooden box, the size of a large toaster, with a top lid that opened, a front panel that opened and a secret diagonal mirror inside. A magician could put a dollar inside the box from the front panel. Then remove a cookie from the top lid and the audience would be amazed at how this wizardry worked. I would smile with satisfaction, knowing that I had stumped them. I liked this trick a lot so I built the box.

Another trip to the magic store and I now owned a magician’s hat and magic wand. My mother made me a magic cape. I looked the part now and accumulated more tricks to dazzle the audience. I acquired a set of colorful scarves and learned two or three tricks, all sleight of hand. Practicing in front of a mirror allowed me to confirm I was working the trick properly.

One day while flipping through a borrowed library magic book, I spotted it. The famous Saw-A-Woman-In-Half trick. I must build this out. I had plenty of wood. A few days later I stood in front of the chamber that would sever a woman in two. It looked fantastic. But I needed a volunteer. So, of course, I asked my sister. She eyed the box with fearful suspicion. She did not want to be cut in half and was quite clear to me about that. I explained to her how the box worked. The box was really two boxes. She would climb into the front box with her knees pulled up and in. And my younger brother, I volunteered him, who was wearing the same pants and shoes, climbed in the bottom box. Both were quite snug. There was a very small space between the two boxes. This is where I would saw. I even taped ketchup packets inside for a gory effect I thought would shock my audience.

I found one more trick that I wanted to do, The Lock-The-Magician-In-A-Chained-Box trick. I built this massive box in the garage. My father finally started to complain about all of the accumulating magic equipment filling his garage. He was forced to park outside now and that meant that my big show was going to happen sooner than later. I completed the build and began to practice the trick. It was going to be sensational. The only problem was the wooden reinforced box was so heavy I couldn’t move it. In the end I had to disassemble it and therefore it was not part of the show. But I was still going to be able to saw a woman in half so I had a grand finale after all.

It was early August and the big day had arrived. I made a banner that I attached to the roof of the garage, “Mike’s Famous Magic Show” It blew in the breeze. I felt excited about the show and anticipated a large crowd. I lined the driveway with about 30 folding chairs that I had borrowed from nearby neighbors. The show was set to begin at 2pm on a clear and warm Sunday afternoon. I had a cassette player plugged in and playing some mystical music I found at the library. Inside the house I looked at my outfit laying on the bed. I pulled the curtain back and could see some people arriving. It was time, it was my destiny. I was ready.

I stepped out of the house dressed as a magician and felt like one. There were twelve people sitting in the front couple of rows facing the garage with its door down. Between them and the garage door stood a large box that would soon cut a woman right in half. But first, it was time for some card tricks. I called random guests to the stage and performed amazing tricks with the sleight of hand possessed by a professional. The crowd broke into applause every time they were fooled. Card tricks led into colorful scarves as the cheers grew louder and louder.

There was a certain anticipation building as everyone realized we were closer and closer to sawing a woman in half. What they did not know was that my younger brother had been hiding in the bottom box sweating buckets. He had his feet and matching shoes inside the box waiting for the right moment to stick them through the two holes made for him. Timing was key and he nailed it. As I asked my sister to approach the stage and come to the box where I was standing, she rose and accepted the invitation. No one knew that this was all staged, to perfection. As she slipped into the front box and poked her head out, the shoes came out right on queue at the other end. The magic trick was set. Nothing to do now but start sawing. I reached for the saw and smiled to myself knowing that ketchup would soon start pouring.

As I sawed, I talked with light banter the way a true magician would. Then I realized I had made a mistake, a big mistake. The panel I had to saw through was thick and the saw blade was dull. After two minutes with little progress I calculated that it would take about a half hour to finish sawing. I did not have that much banter. Things did not look good for me. I finally accepted the alternative. I asked everyone to go home, take a little break and come back a bit later while I continued sawing. Moments later I was facing chairs lacking an audience. Some of my friends that lived across the street, simply sat in the window marking my progress. The ketchup did bleed but without a crowd. Some packets fell loose and to the floor. The effect was ruined. I had more sawing to do.

At one point I had reached the end and some people were returning. My crowd had now reduced to six people. I laid down the saw and pulled the boxes apart toward me. It was difficult because this trick also weighed more than a fourteen old could manage easily. To my delight though. My sister rotated her head and my brother wiggled his feet. The remaining audience members applauded at the sight. I put the two boxes together and my sister climbed out. Unfortunately, my younger brother forgot to pull his shoes back in. The show was over. I was devastated.

I never held another magic show again, just this one. If you were there you witnessed something unique, if not, well, probably just as well.

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