december … · annemann both used somewhat clumsy devices in their original routines, but george...
TRANSCRIPT
Next Meeting: 7:00 p.m. Thursday, December 5, 2013 — Tarrant County College-Trinity River Campus, Fort Worth
December 2013—www.fortworthmagiciansclub.org—Volume 2013 Issue 12
On A Personal Note . . . Prayers and Best Wishes
[Editor’s notice: This column is dedicated news about our
members and friends in the greater North Texas magic
community, particularly regarding those who are under the
weather, recovering, and those of our community whom we
unfortunately lose. As we can, we will provide mailing ad-
dresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers for our
colleagues and their families.
To this end, please send your information to the Flashpaper
editor Geoff Grimes at [email protected] or call at
972-740-3125.
Please provide contact information as you can.
Let’s Party . . . A Magical Way!
Features: November Report, “Once Upon a Time,” Prez Says, “BeLIEve Me,” Kidz Rule, Remembering
Our own “Doc Haliday,” Hal
Hudgins is down in his back
again—and big time with the
possibility of more surgery.
Great news! Our latest new
member Joshua Ayala and
his partner Veronica have
just given birth to Jennifer!
There’s no greater magic!
Norman Beck will return to
work this week after two brain
operations. That’s wonderful!
Are you ready to Party!! (Okay, so it’s a question
and not an exclamation!) But that’s the agenda for
the holiday season this month. Bring finger foods—
nothing heavy or that has to be warmed! We’ll all
chow down and “munchies and crunchies,” and
then we’ll turn to magic!
For the program, bring anything you use in “holiday
magic.” We’ll share our best seasonal effects. You
can call Michael Stein (817-683-4467 ), or just
show up with your good stuff! Past Prez Susie
Shulwitz will perform her qualifying act for renew-
ing her membership—”Whooo-Hooo!”
We have a lot to be thankful for this year, and, at
the same time, we need to remember our wonder-
ful friends we lost in the last few months. And keep
Ruth and Walt Porter and Patsy Wilson in your
prayers. They are part of our wonderful family.
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 2
Out-a-th’ Box ~ The Prez Says
Thankful? Oh yeah, I remember. Somewhere amidst the trip to grandma’s and the
overeating and the football, we were supposed to pause a moment and remember the
things we are thankful for.
My list, starting with health and family, is a very, very long one. But for the moment, I
will focus just on the Fort Worth Magicians Club.
I am extremely thankful for this eclectic collection of guys and gals who get together to
share their love of the magical arts. Young, old, retired, students, busy professionals,
working parents, we have little in common except the joy of eliciting smiles of surprise
and cries of, “Wow!” or, “No way!”
I am especially thankful for those of us who “go the extra mile”…
who volunteer for events such as the Snowball Express,
who accept responsibilities large and small such as writing the minutes, keeping the books, planning meetings,
editing the newsletter, or just being faithful attenders.
Thanks to the professionals who share their experience and to the amateurs who share their enthusiasm.
Thanks to the senior members who share the wisdom of the past
Thanks to the younger ones who share the spirit of today, and keep we older ones from becoming a group of old fo-
geys who think only in the past.
In short, if you are reading this, I am thankful for YOU.
Sim-Sala-Bim
Larry
Larry Heil, President
Fort Worth Magicians Club
FWMC to hold 2014 elections at the December meeting
The Fort Worth Magicians Club will hold elections at the December meeting. The Nomination Committee has presented
the following slate of members who have expressed interest in supporting the club in service as a club officer. Thanks
to all who have stepped forward to continue the leadership important to the success of the FWMC’s mission and goals.
President: John Hatzenbuhler, Michael Stein
Vice President for Programs: Fran Hatzenbuhler, Matthew Martin
Vice President and Web Master: Bruce Chadwick
Vice President and Editor of the Flashpaper: Geoff Grimes
Secretary: Cindy Bighorse Chadwick
Treasurer: Susie Shulwitz
Sergeant-at-Arms: Michael Rubino
Historian: Rick Burcher
Member-at-Large: Ash Adams
Member-at-Large: Joshua Ayala
Member-at-Large: Michael Dimsdle
Trustee: Arthur Emerson
(Other Trustee positions are currently ongoing.)
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 3
Larry Hass regales our club in his November lecture
The Fort Worth Magicians Club greeted Dr. Larry Hass as its lecturer for its November meeting. Long
anticipated, Larry presented his latest lecture on “Deception and Theater.”
Larry Heil, president of the club opened the meeting with an introduction of guests. Michael Rubino,
Sergeant-at-Arms welcomed Ricardo Rodriguez and his daughter, Isabella.
The first half of the meeting addressed a number of club items including the report for the Nomination
Committee of 2014 officers.
Michael Stein announced “holiday magic” as the theme for the December meeting. We will have the
gift exchange and simple finger foods for desert. Members should bring either magic and non-magic
wrapped items for the gift exchange, keeping the cost to $15 per items.
Bruce Chadwick noted that David Gabbay will lecture on Sunday, November 17th at the Illusion
Warehouse. He mentioned that he is the third lecturer sponsored at the Illusion Warehouse for $20 cash or $21 credit
card/PayPal. We need a strong turnout if we are to continue to bring lecturers to Fort Worth.
Bruce also introduced the new online registration and dues collection options. We are getting rid of paper work. The
new registration form is found on the website at www.fortworthmagiciansclub.org. Just click on the “Dues” link on the
home page. Bruce noted that you can still pay by cash to the treasurer, but everyone should fill out the online registra-
tion form.
Larry Heil acknowledged the many hours that Bruce and Larry Brown have invested in the creation of the online
registration. Bill Irwin, the 2014 president of the TAOM (Texas Association of Magicians), reported on some of the latest
plans.
Larry Heil shared brief remarks about the “McBride Magic & Meaning Conference” in Las Vegas, October 16-20th. Larry
and Geoff Grimes represented the club, presenting four of the twenty presentations.
Larry reflected on his return to magic following a book review of Larry Hass’s Trans-
formations: Creating Magic out of Tricks. He then asked Geoff Grimes to introduce
Dr. Hass, Professor of Humanities and the Associate Dean of the “McBride Magic
and Mystery School” in Las Vegas.
Larry began with a performance of “Kaffkaesk” cut and restored ropes, a two-ended
rope sprouting a third and then even a fourth end, only to restore itself to one, long
two-ender.
As a college teacher, Larry reviewed the sporting preferences of the various profes-
sors. He noted that philosophers, like himself, prefer bowling—air bowling! He invit-
ed a young member from the audience to assist him. He asked Isabella Rodriguez
to think of a number of bowling pins that she could knock over in their “air bowling”
experiment. She imagined knocking over ten pins. When the balloon bowling ball
was popped, inside was a piece of paper bearing the number 10.
Larry noted that it is his task to teach magicians to be better performers. He divided
his lecture into two sections: Part 1: Deception and Part 2: Theater.
Part 1: Deception
Larry claimed that he would introduce a number of tools. For the last three years he
came to understand an old truth: “Our magic must be deceptive.” The new axiom:
Our magic MUST be deceptive. If our magic doesn’t “fool the pants off of them,” our magic is not good. That’s what we
have to aim for—it has to be fully and deeply deceptive. Otherwise, it is only a theatrical performance.
How can we make our magic more fully deceptive for our audiences? We need “deep methods.” If not, a lay audience
will know something happened, even though they aren’t sure what happened. We need deeper methods than many that
are common in the sub-culture of magic.
Dr. Larry Hass
Larry Heil
President
(Continued)
The majority of what we read in magic magazines and what we buy at conventions, says Larry, are not deceptive
enough in the real world. Tricks being reviewed never represent the very best methods of their magic. What we read in
magazines is very rarely “A” material, with exceptions, of course, like Jim Steinmeyer and a few others of his caliber.
However, a lot of what we see is not fully thought through. They went “to product” much too quickly.
Regarding print material, Larry noted that professional creators are really performers. Performance happens in our body,
not in our heads. The remedy? Buy books by real performers.
Another point: there is great exposure today—we all got linking rings and the cups and balls in out first magic kits as
kids. Way too many people know the props. Media exposure and access! This isn’t okay! So we have to work for deep-
er methods.
Last point: magicians are hard to perform for. In fact, however, lay people are even harder! Magicians give each other a
pass on weak technique. Lay people ask questions about strange handlings that most magicians enjoy watching.
Eugene Burger has written “On the Structure of Magic Effects” in the “Mystery School” book. It is one of the most
important works for magicians: “Here’s what’s going in every trick: ‘That was fair. That was fair. And that was fair. . . .
No freakin’ way!”
After his discussion, Larry presented a selection of
deep methods from his professional repertoire. He then
went on to review the magic of several top performers.
Lay people know we can turn over two cards as one.
but some pieces by even the best magicians simply
expose what magicians can do—false shuffle, pre-
arranged orders—the effects themselves teach the lay
audiences what is going on.
The balloon routine was created by George Parker
from Amsterdam, a highly sought after corporate magi-
cian. George released a five-trick work. The inspiration
was “the arm chair bowler” by Max Maven. The secret
is a pocket index for card choices. Al Baker and Ted
Annemann both used somewhat clumsy devices in
their original routines, but George uses a much refined
gimmick that enables the performer to access instantly
a spectator’s selection. Larry also explained the
balloon comedy and the by-play.
Larry’s second piece featured the discovery of a select-
ed card—what he called the “Testing Issue Mind Read.” He acknowledged several Bob Farmer and Richard
Osterlind inspirations. As sequenced, the routine proceeded as follows:
Larry lets a member of the audience shuffle a deck of cards.
He takes the pack and shuffles some more.
He next introduces a paper ball which the members of the audience begin passing around the room.
Larry asks the person who receives the ball to think of a card, and he sticks that card in the middle of the deck.
Larry guides the audience with very precise instructions—so critical to the success to the selection of the card.
Then, without explanation or even the suggestion of his method, Larry identifies the chosen card.
This has been a real fooler, Larry confesses. As an occasional performer at Hollywood’s Magic Castle, his goal is to fool
them badly with one piece! And this one surely worked for us!
(Continued)
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 4
Larry Hass lecture, continued
Isabella Rodriguez holds the “air bowling ball
for Larry Hass
Part 2: Theater and Magic—“The Million Dollar Card Mystery”!
Larry told of a recent dinner engagement when his wife, Dr. Marjorie Hass, President of
Austin College, and he were invited to dine with a potential large donor to Austin College.
Marjorie told him to “bring along his magic.” He performed only one piece of card work
that helped secure a $2 million donation! He shared the piece with the club:
Larry borrowed a deck. He riffled through the deck, and a guest selected a card. Rob
Davis joined Larry at a table. On a piece of paper Rob identified a color—black; then, he
wrote a quick doodle; then, he wrote a numbers 1, 2, and 3. From the card, Larry identi-
fied his card as red; he identified the number—the seven of diamonds!
[Larry notes that Spain’s Juan Tamariz will sit quietly at a table. At just the right time, he
takes out a deck, does one trick, and everyone leaves screaming!]
Larry introduced two methods for the card discovery which illustrated well his concept of
“deep methods.” The discovery methods were quite simple but invisible to the audience.
The result was a real stunner!
Back to “theater,” Larry explained that we need to think of ourselves as actors. He cited
Max Howard as the quintessential actor/magician. We can learn much from studying
theatrical performance.
The “theater” is the act being played in your mind. Actors are constantly
interacting—we shatter the “fourth wall” through interaction. He identified
several principles of theater performance that we need to master:
Making eye contact is essential—we should be constantly scanning
the room.
The principle of physical space and the place that properties occupy
on stage is important—in magic, it is the precise placement on the
stage of every prop. Everything on your stage has a meaning and
helps to create the effect.
Audiences always react to your performance in that planned space.
We need to be like a theater picture. As artists we are doing theater—creation of a living space.
We do need to do more acting—applying acting when the magical causality is happening. Larry recommended that
we read An Actor Prepares, by Stanislavski.
Larry concluded his lecture and entertained questions, and with that, the meeting adjourned.
Mote: For more information about Larry Hass and instructional resources for many of the routines Larry performed, go to
his website at http://www.lawrencehass.com/magician.php. You can also contact him at [email protected] Also,
check out Jeff McBride’s “Magic and Mystery School” at http://www.magicalwisdom.com/.
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 5
Larry Hass lecture, continued
Larry Hass explains
George Parker’s Index
Rob joins Larry Hass in a piece of
magical mindreading.
Tarrant County College requests help from the FWMC
Tarrant County College officials once again have requested the support of the Fort Worth Magicians Club on Friday,
February 7th for their annual “Vision Clinic.” Hundreds of area families turn out for this charitable event in which local
eye doctors and related specialists volunteer their skills and services in screening children for glaucoma and other eye-
related problems. We have been asked to provide magical entertainment during the eight-hour event. If you are free
and able to assist, even for an hour, please contact Geoff Grimes at 972-740-3125, or email at [email protected].
Ash Adams
Bob Adams
Luther Adkins
Richard Amon
Dana Archip
Stacey Archip
Joshua Ayala
Richard Bowes
Ruth Bowes
Thomas Bowes
Rick Burcher
Bruce Chadwick
Cindy Chadwick
Louis Daniels
Michael Dimsdle
Bernard Dolenz
Arthur Emerson
Albert Fox
Marvin Gearhart
Geoffrey Grimes
Jeffrey Hallberg
Fran Hatzenbuhler
John Hatzenbuhler
Larry Heil
Shel Higgens
David Hira
Hal Hudgins
Pamela Jenkins
Hudgins
Bill Irwin
Floyd Jones
Rhonda Jones
Jess Langston
Raene Lockridge
Matthew Martin
Freddy Martinez
Van McGee
Arthur Moses
Richard Pemper
Ann Margaret Phelps
Jamie Phelps
Ruth Porter
Walt Porter
Michael Reiche
Gustavo Rodriguez
Ricardo Rodriguez
Michael Rubino
Brandon Lee Sharpe
Libby Sharpe
Russell Shead
Betty Jo Standridge
Michael Stein
Brent Weaver
Jim Wicker
Doug Wilson (deceased)
Ron Wilson
December Birthday Greetings!
Geoff Grimes
Ruth Porter
Whooo —
Hoooh!!
Current Paid Members of the FWMC
Note: This is the
updated list as of
December,
2013. If you
believe your
name has been
omitted in error,
please contact
Libby Sharpe,
Club Secretary.
In the January
issue, we will
post the updated
dues-paying
members for
2014.
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 6
2014 Membership Renewals Now Due!
This year has been a phenomenal year in the life of The Fort Worth Magicians Club. It has been an exciting year of great programs, wonderful magic performances, and lots of bylaws changes! One of the biggest changes has been to change our physical year to January 1 through December 31, which makes dues due on January 1, 2014. Among other things, this means that current dues paid members have received an extra three months of free membership in the club, October through December 2013! Second, club members must now pay dues exclusively online. This wonderful new system alleviates so much of the bur-den from the Secretary and Treasurer. No longer do these officers have to deal with checks, keep up with cash, decipher incomplete and sometimes illegibly filled-out Dues Payment Forms, make trips to the bank, and keep up with who has or has not paid their dues. To pay 2014 membership dues that are due by January 1, members simply go to the “Dues” page of www.fortworthmagiciansclub.org and click on the “Pay Your Dues Now” button. Club members fill out basic contact infor-mation and then pay their pay dues online with their debit or credit card. Note that payments will be processed through “PayPal,” but members do not have a PayPal account to use the system. What happens if a member can't remember whether or not he has paid his dues? That’s easy. Members simply go to the Dues page of the website and click on the “Click HERE for a List of 2014 Dues Paid Up Members of the Club” link. All club members who have paid their 2014 dues are listed. And too, all dues-paid-up members are INSTANTLY added to the list within seconds of paying their dues online! So paying dues is now as easy as accessing the club’s website through the computer or smart phone. All the wonderful benefits of another year in the best magic club anywhere is here for the taking. In February alone, all dues paid up mem-bers and potential new members who submit an application online (click the Join button) will be able to attend the free Nathan Kranzo lecture. NOTE: In accordance with the club's Bylaws, members whose dues are not paid before the first day of March are auto-matically suspended. Suspended members may not attend Monthly Club Meetings or other Club sponsored meetings and activities. Members whose dues are unpaid for less than two years may pay their back dues and thereby be reinstated and retain continuous membership. Members in arrears for two years or more must re-apply for membership. Visitors may attend up to three regular Monthly Club Meetings. After applying for membership online, they may continue to attend Monthly Club Meetings until their membership is either ratified or denied.
“Once Upon a Time” with Arthur Emerson
The phone rang in my “hooch”. It was Gen. Rienzi who had a job for me that he thought I might enjoy. He had been tasked to provide a senior officer to go to Bhopal, India and cut the ribbon on the first Indian Army Signal School. As the new LTC Emer-son, he wanted me to go BUT he felt he was doing me a favor – plus he would sweeten the deal!
Past IBM President Ron Haines, attended the previous years 1st All India Magic Con-vention and hoped an American magician would attend the 2
nd.
MATS flew me to Bhopal, where I was billeted in a lovely garden suite hotel and then taken to dinner to view and clip the very modern new school. I was thanked for my ef-fort with a car and driver for the next 3 days and went to bed dreaming of tomorrow and SORCAR!
I arrived at the “auditorium” the next morning along with 125 Indian magicians who came by hanging on to trains (you’ve seen the pictures!). The unat-tractive, cement building looked Russian in design but accommodated 500 in comfortable seating and had a gigantic stage. Sorcar was on stage directing his crew’s setup when I was introduced to him. He seemed to drop everything to show me every bit of the appa-ratus, their workings, his additions to the standards and the stories that went with them. . . a fabulous 2 hours.
But we had to stop our chat until later as it was time to open the doors and let in the attendees. The price of admission was that each Indian magician had to present his best trick while Sorcar sat in the front row! For the next 3 hours, Sorcar patient-ly sat through 125 Sucker Die Boxes! … as did we all.
I was introduced as the visiting U. S. magician and asked to perform something – they got Flick Flick and the Insight pen routine to polite applause for being short.
I was taken to a local restaurant for dinner by the Bhopal Magic Club President but was told that I must return an hour before show time…good food and good company.
Upon return to the stage, Sorcar introduced me to each one of his company and stated their area of expertise. Then, comes the surprise: Sorcar, like Barnum and Bailey, had 3 identical units leap frogging ahead to future cities. No one in any unit had to jump ahead – just Sorcar and an aide, they were all replicated in the 3 units, even to the full orches-tras. The only difference between the units was the final illusion: tonight we had the Hangman’s illusion. The other 2 featured the Whippet car vanish or The Girl Shot from Cannon to Aerial Box.
Showtime! Three hours with short Intermission, rapid fire presentations of illusion after illusion with very few “fill items”. But my favorite item of the evening was one of those “fills”. A blindfolded “copy of blackboard writing” – the board on a very low easel, 4 feet wide and only 2 feet tall set at a 45 degree angle toward upstage so that Sorcar could stand be-hind the blackboard and bending forward, blindfolded, retrace anything backwards written or drawn upon the board…ending in a Magic Square.
After the show, dinner and another surprise, I was seated at the head table, but no Sorcar.
He was seated on the floor in a corner of an adjacent room surrounded by the female members of his troupe eating din-ner. I was politely informed that he would see me later, but he was of the wrong caste to eat with those attending HIS Convention!
After dinner, I sat in the audience while he critiqued the evening’s performance to the full crew. He joined me for my comments and a farewell as he was off early tomorrow.
Unforgettable!
There’s more to this visit but that is for next time.
Arthur Emerson
Editor’s Note: The FWMC is most grateful to Arthur Emerson who continues to share each month, through the venue of
his long career in magic, glimpses of the past that would be lost forever without his commitment and grace in sharing
this marvelous history. Arthur is a “Life Member” of the Fort Worth Magicians Club and former co-owner of the renowned
Emerson and West wholesale magic company that brought so many major effects into the magic community.
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 7
How Old is Your Act? Fortunately, there are time-tested effects that by their design are wonderful options for a large segment of performers. Some have gone through changes that offer a new look and provide variety for our audiences. Take the Die Box, with variations provided by Run Rabbit Run, or the Vanishing Pizza. While nothing is wrong with the original, someone has applied a new look that can be a welcome addition to an act that has a related theme (food) or target audience. Naturally there will be those examples where the change is not an advancement, but without innovation you would not have had the opportunity to make that judg-ment. Effects go through changes, and whether they fit your performance style or not, options are created. So let’s discuss performances. Experiences and exposure to new technologies is going faster than ever before. Audiences (kidz) today receive more information in a day than most of us experienced in a month when we were growing up. If effects
can undergo change, shouldn’t you consider how you are performing? Have you taken out time worn references that have no meaning to today’s audience? Have you added contemporary references that your audience can relate to? Are you paying attention to who is getting attention? Have you adjusted your equipment to meet current standards? Some examples for anyone older than 20: Time worn – A child under 10 was being shown some magic and a reference to David Copperfield was made. The child asked who David Copperfield was. Lesson: Just because he was big in our generation does not mean he has transcended to the next. If you are a performer for anyone under 20, I would recommend spending time with them to see if they understand your reference. Before I go any further, this text is not for the performer who believes he has no reason to review his act; they have a different problem. Contemporary - Pokemon is well known and have had an amazingly long lived popularity. I recently heard a very popular, elder, performer comment that kids don’t communicate as well as they should. On the opposite hand I would have to ask, ‘what are you communicating to them?’. I have seen a 6 year old carry his own weight with a 22 year old in a thirty minute discussion on the evolutions and tactical advantages of fighting styles characteristic of each Pokemon. At this point in this discussion there are two responses I expect from you as the reader. You either know what a Pokemon is or you do not. If you do, I bet you can relate to kids. If you don’t, find a kid, and you will have a great conversation starter, ‘Hey, what can you tell me about Pokemon’. Just be ready to sit for a while; there is a lot to learn. If you don’t care to sit with a kid, stop doing kid shows. Attention – Who is getting attention and what are they doing? I know kids love magic. They want to touch and experience the effect. Kids today are raised to experience. If asked a question, it is no longer expected to be rhetorical. Kids expect you really want an answer and will respond. Older performances often appear to be monologues—scripts delivered without expectation of a response other than an applause at the end. Are you involving your audience? Can you put something in their hand and watch their eyes grow with amazement, or do you add a story or humor to engage them? Or do you tell them you are cutting a rope and. “Oh my! It is restored! Equipment – Technology has provided amazing opportunities to improve our acts. Handheld speakers under $40 can be used to fill a moderate performance area with enough music to add a new dimension to an act. And types of recording mediums have changed. Most PC’s (if you are still using them) don’t even have CD/DVD readers anymore. MP3 and other USB devices are the standard for transferring data, audio and video, and they are more reliable and easier to transport. I love some of the new props as well. Spyder products, and other display units, offer a single performer a chance to travel light and play big. Granted, cost is a factor, but if you are still holding on to your old cassette tapes ,you may want to accept the fact that times have changed and the generosity of others to accommodate you is the only reason you are still working. Grab a kid, review your act, Kidz Rule Bill
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 8
Kidz Rule ~ Commentary by Bill Irwin
BeLIEve Me, But Cut the Cards
A Psychology of Deception for Magicians
Michael Smith
“Tis the Season”
Recently, when I was in the Center late one night, a long distant phone call came in from a kindly old man asking if we were the best counseling center in Texas. I said that I thought we were. He then asked if I were little Sigie Freud. I said no, that I was little “Mikie” Smith. I said that I did have a beard and had smoked a cigar from time to time. I explained that the operator had connected him to a wrong number and that his timing was off by about 100 years. He apologized saying that where he lived, the days and nights are six months long
so he often loses track of time.
I explained that I was a counselor (and also a magician) and asked if I could help him. He would not make an appoint-ment, saying that he lives too far away. When I suggested that he seek a therapist in his home town, he revealed that nobody lives there except him and his wife, a herd of reindeer and a work crew of elves. He also said that he only gets away once a year and that is a flying trip that allows no time to stop for counseling. So, he wanted counseling over the phone.
“Well,” I said, understandingly, “I can see why you would want to talk with someone. All those elves and reindeer could drive anyone crazy after a while.”
“Oh, no!” he answered, “You don’t understand. Life is great up here. I like my reindeer. I don’t even mind being knee-deep in elves. What’s driving me out of my mind is the crazy stuff people are saying about me.”
“Oh no,” I thought. “Is he getting senile or paranoid and having delusions of persecution? If old Kris Kringle goes off his rocker, what is left to believe in?”
“They are telling lies about me to their kids,” he continued. “They have been telling them that I only bring goodies to chil-dren who behave like angels. I know why they do it. Some of them just aren’t very bright and keep repeating the same nonsense they grew up with. But some of them do it to blackmail their kids into behaving. “Be good,” they say, “or San-ta won’t bring you anything. Just look at what they are doing to me. Instead of a kindly old soul who really loves kids, they are making me look like some kind of dirty old man who goes around bribing kids to be good. I do it because I love them. Why can’t those parents understand that? It looks like they just don’t know much about love…. or about kids ei-ther, for that matter.”
His voice seemed to grow a bit more calm and reflective. “Then again, maybe those parents aren’t really trying to do me in. Maybe they can’t teach much about love because they never learned much about it. I guess that’s one of the rea-sons your center exists- to help parents and kids understand more about love. I think it’s sort of like what religious types call ‘grace.’ If they ever get that message, maybe they’ll see that I don’t deliver goodies because their kids are good. I do it because I am good.”
He sighed deeply, as if glad to get something off his chest. Then he said, “Well, it’s been good talking to you Sonny. I really appreciated all the help you have given me. Now, how much do I owe you?”
“Well,” I replied, “considering that yours is a rather unusual case, we’ll let this one “be on the house.” But, I do have one request and one question.”
“What’s that, Sonny?” he said resuming his former jovial tone. “I would like your permission to tell my magician friends about this conversation.” “You got it!! You magicians understand this season is really magical and wonder-filled. What’s your question?” “What are you going to bring me for Christmas, Santa?”
My hope is that this holiday season we truly believe that our “magic” can bring joy and wonder into people’s lives. Until next month, remember to “cut the cards.”
Mike
Editor’s Note: With this issue, The Flashpaper begins a new column featuring the magical mind and imagination of our
newest member and former FWMC president, Dr. Michael Smith. The subject of a future profile, Mike is the Senior
Pastoral Counselor at the Pastoral Counseling Center in Dallas. He is a member of both the Dallas Magic Clubs, Inc.
and the Fort Worth Magicians Club and is an active close-up performer, featured in local area restaurants. We are
delighted that he is willing to share his inquisitive, insightful, and inspirational articles. The following article has just
appeared in the December issue of the Society of American Magicians’ M-U-M Magazine.
Dr. Michael Smith
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 9
The Celebration of a Compeer ~ Commentary by Geoff Grimes
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 10
At the end of the year, it is appropriate to look back at our work together, the fun we have
shared, and our growth as a magical community. We have greeted new members and cele-
brated the return of former ones. People have stepped up to support our club in wonderful
ways which auger well for the coming year.
I want to take this moment to thank president Larry
Heil for all his service to the club in this extended year.
Larry represents the very best of us in commitment to
the club, to the goal of supporting magical perfomance
as a high art form, for sharing his insights about that
art with the larger national community, and for lifting up
our club as a model for what every club should be.
Larry and I came into the club at just about the same time. From the beginning of
our time together, we have become fast friends, joined by our love of magic.
What Larry has taught me and, I believe, all of us, is what a lifetime in magic
leads to: a commitment to our audiences to perform the art of magic at the high-
est possible level that practice and skill can achieve and to treat each member of
our audiences with graciousness and respect.
I have had the privilege of witnessing Larry’s addresses to international
communities of magicians each year for the past three years at the
McBride Magic and Mystery School “Magic and Meaning” seminars.
You cannot believe the high regard and esteem in which he is held at
that level, so much so that his presentations
and lectures on magical entertainment
receive sustained applause and high critical
acclaim.
Of course, as you can tell from his monthly
commentaries, Larry is a polished
communicator. I appreciate so much his
tenacious attention to his column, “The Prez
Says,” each month. Through the column he
has exhorted each of us to take our art to
the next level and to hold firm to a commit-
ment to high standards of both performance and behavior. In his graciousness, he has
always been quick to compliment others of us. He has shared insights from his own long
past in magical entertainment, and he has offered his services to the lay community when-
ever called upon.
We will have a new club president in another month who I know shares all of the virtues that
Larry represents and has championed during his 2012-2013 tenure in that office. Our new
president will only be better for the high bar of leadership that Larry has set for him or her in
the coming year.
We all join in thanking you, Larry, for your work and your inspiring service to our club and to
the whole magical community, and we wish you a well deserved rest in your “retirement”
which we all know will not end your tireless work for our Fort Worth Magicians Club.
Just sayin’ . . .
Geoff Grimes
Geoff Grimes
Flashpaper Editor
Larry’s tribute to
Robert Neale at the
Magic and Meaning”
Seminar, 2012
Larry with Eugene Burger in Las Vegas
Larry Heil and friend
PRESIDENT
Larry Heil, 817-444-0743,
EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT AND
PROGRAM CHAIRMAN
Michael Stein, 817-920-9929, cell: 817-683-4467
VICE-PRESIDENT AND EDITOR OF
THE FLASHPAPER
Geoff Grimes, 972-740-3125,
[email protected] or [email protected]
VICE-PRESIDENT AND WEBMASTER
Bruce Chadwick, 817-832-6062,
SECRETARY
Libby Sharpe, 214-808-0202
TREASURER
Matthew Martin, 303-841-7374
SERGEANT AT ARMS
Mike Rubino, 817-262-3325
Mr_jack_jackal@yahoo,com
HISTORIAN
Rick Burcher, 817-469-7037
MEMBER-AT-LARGE
Jeff Hallberg, 817-479-3186
MEMBER-AT-LARGE
Pamela Jenkins Hudgins, 817-465-4266
MEMBER-AT-LARGE
Richard Amon, 940-264-6637
MEMBER-AT-LARGE
Michael Reiche, 682-999-4286
TRUSTEE (Term Expires 2017)
Bruce Chadwick, 817-832-6062
TRUSTEE (Term Expires 2013)
Arthur Emerson, 817-868-6827
TRUSTEE (Term Expires 2015)
Bill Irwin, 817-805-1655
APPOINTED TAOM REPRESENTATIVES
Bill Irwin, Ren Clark IBM Ring 15, Mark
Miertschin, Bruce Chadwick SAM Assembly 138
2012-2013 Club Officers
The Flashpaper, December 2013, Volume 2013, Issue 12, page 11
Calendar for December
Fort Worth Magicians Club May Meeting—7:00 p.m. on Thursday,
November 7, at the Tarrant County College-Trinity River Campus, located at
300 Trinity Campus Circle at the corner of Cherry Street and Belknap in
downtown Fort Worth. The meeting is held in the Energy Auditorium on the
(elevator) 6th floor.
Second Saturday, Saturday, December 14th, Magic etc, 9:00 a.m., Forest
Park Blvd. a I-30, Fort Worth.
FWMC Annual Banquet and Installation, Thursday, January 2, at Spring
Creek Barbeque, 3609 Cooper, Arlington, Texas (six blocks north of I-20).
Karl Hein Lecture, Saturday, January 25, 6:00 pm at the Illusion Warehouse Party Room and Magic Theatre. Cost is $20 cash per person payable at the door, or $21 per person payable at the door via credit or debit card. The store is located at 3917 McCart Avenue, three blocks north of Seminary Drive, phone 817-832-6062 (non texting). For further information, go to www.IllusionWarehouse.com
Remembering Our Two Best Friends
We would be remiss if we failed to acknowledge the passing of two of our
most beloved members. Leland Van De Venter joined the club after moving
to Burleson from Orange County, California. He was our oldest performing
magical artist and enjoyed nothing more than performing for his family,
neighbors and church members. Leland passed away on May 22nd after
extended illness and several hospital stays. Leland is survived by Walt and
Ruth Porter, his son-in-law and daughter, two of our most stalwart members.
Aside his life-long devotion to his wife Patsy, Doug Wilson loved intensely
both magic and caricature woodcarving, two passions that he merged in his
unique ability to fashion the most magical of wands for both friends and col-
lectors in the magic community. His wands were hand crafted, many featuring
his signature wizards, beards of which often wound around the length of the
shaft of the wands. Since joining the club, Doug often fought off debilitating
pain just to make it to meetings. His last magical participation was attending
the 2013 TAOM meeting in Addison. Doug passed away on September 24th.