I wasn't in a good mood when the pretty waitress stopped at my table a week ago. I was friendly and she was nice and things were fine. I decided, after the meal, to perform something for her and all I had were my "Genie" cards (out to lunch) and a deck of cards. So I performed that for her, then did "Anniversary Waltz" and she was floored! She opened her servers book and there were things she collected from patrons. She put my cards in the front and then told me she was having a bad night until I did this for her. She had no idea that lifting her spirits in turn, lifted mine. These are the moments of magic I treasure most.

I do magic because I want to see people amazed. NOT AT ME, but at magic itself.

It's rare that people would say "I'm surprised, I'm amazed, I'm happy". It's always the "I'm in the bad mood, I'm sad, I hate the world thing" that keeps on going.

I do it, so for a fleeting moment, they'd have a deviation from their routine monotony.

Seeing someone amazed makes me amazed to. And that makes magic fun all the more.

Great stories....

Like many I was bitten by the bug as a young kid bit I never really persued it.

Now I am in my 30's and have been bitten again so to speak.

I love the look on a childs face when something magical happens.

I love to travel as it is the only time I am sure not to have to do my real job. Traveling presents so many opportunities to perform for those who would never see magic. Sure I love standing in front of several hundred for a stage show but to present a close-up miracle to a few is the best. In travels you see many poor children begging and the look in their eyes when the "rich" American shows them a trick. Or when you take time to show a few tricks to the local soldiers. Last winter an "ugly" American did 30 minutes of close-up on the sidewalk for a group of Palestinian soldiers taking a mid-morning break. The looks on their faces is all one needs. Besides they liked me enough they did not shoot me.

Robert

I do magic because I like to make people smile and laugh. Go to the local VA hospital sometimes and entertain the old troops that are there for treatment. I like to call it my USO show. These days everybody needs a few more reasons to grin a bit. Magic seems to bring out the kid in everyone.

What a wonderful topic! I have really enjoyed reading these stories and am touched to hear how much magic means to so many.

Here's one of my fondest magical memories:

I had been hired to do a show at a local elementary school. It was an assembly program for the fifth grade class. From the opening routine there was a blond-haired girl in the audience whose smile caught my eye. She just seemed to be so happy and excited about the show. This little girl was sitting in the center section of the auditorium about 6 rows from the front and every time I looked in her direction she was clapping, laughing, or smiling ear to ear. When the time came to do an effect with a volunteer, of course, she was my first choice. The look on her face was priceless when I selected her to come up. As my assistant brought her to center stage and introduced her to me as Rebecca, I could see that she was going to do well. Rebecca was so thrilled to be helping and really excited to have been chosen.

Together we performed a paper tear routine with nesting wands. I always strive to make the volunteer the star of their effect and Rebecca was a natural. She laughed out loud at every one-liner and just lit up each time something magical would happen. She had a naturally expressive face that made everyone enjoy the magic even more. At the conclusion of the routine, she returned to her seat wearing the hat that she had magically created from torn scraps of paper.

A few weeks later I received a large envelope in the mail filled with notes on wide-ruled paper from the children who had attended the show. There were crayon drawings of me, my assistant, the doves, etc. There was a note from Rebecca thanking me for coming and telling me that my show was so much fun that her, "stumek hurt from laughing."

Included in that envelope was a note from Rebecca's teacher thanking me for having selected her for the show and how much that it had helped her. She wrote that Rebecca had always been the object of ridicule from her classmates. (She was over-weight.) Due to constant picking and name-calling she had a very low self esteem and never really fit in with the other girls. After having been picked for the show and actually performing a magical feat, her rank in the pecking order had changed. She was now invited to play with the other children and was no longer the object of their scorn. The teacher signed off by saying that until witnessing Rebecca's transformation, she had never believed in magic... but now she does.

Funny - that was almost 14 years ago, but I can still see Rebecca's smile as if it were yesterday.

Thanks for the post Leland. You've brought back some wonderful memories!

dc

I just discovered this thread and I'm genuinely touched by the stories I've read. You guys truly have done something special and touched peoples lives; left a meaningful impression. I'm with Corbett, I too could read this stuff all day.
DC, your story has left a lump in my throat and I rarely get that by reading stuff off of a message board let me tell ya! You folks are amazing...

What a wonderful end to my monday night...

Magic is inspiring...

Great stories....

Like many I was bitten by the bug as a young kid and have never looked back..

I was working at Stationary supply warehouse a few years back and was chosen to go to the Make a wish foundation's Special Kids day to hand out sample bags,once all the bags were gone I pulled out my trusty bas of (tricks for free)and started to entertain, well the crowd started to gather and grow larger and larger sorounded by kids and their carers was a really up lifting feeling.Something I will never forget about that day was after ide packed up and was ready to leave, there was a tug on my trouser leg from behind, turning around I found a young boy in a wheel chair doing his best to thank me for the show ,his carrer told me he had made her push him the entire length of the show ground just to thank me. This bought tears to my eye's ,I will treasure this moment forever,this is why I love doing MAGIC!

I have performed for a large group of life threateningly ill children once each year for the last 13 years.

A few years back a mother and father came up after the show and told me They had been at the show the previous year. They explained why they had come to be at this one. It turned out their daughter had passed away two weeks after the previous years show. They explained that it was the last time they saw their daughter laugh and forget her illness for a short while. the two of them had come back to the show to try to recapture the magic of that moment.

I thank God for being used in that way.

That's the best thing I've read about magic in a long time! Rejuvanates soul!

Thank you for sharing Lee.

About 1990 I was doing some sales training in the field with a new hire that did some conjuring too, which we were discussing over lunch in a park. Some kids were playing an invented game on the next table with pebbles, and the whole family looked kinda 'down and out'. An ice cream vendor tinkled by and one kid ask, "Hey, Mom, how come we never get ice cream any more?" She replied, "When those stones turn into quarters, you can have some ice cream."

Jason and I looked at each other, grabbed our suit jackets, and ambled over...

Sheesh...my eyes are watering on some of these stories...so nice!

In 2007, I traveled to Mexico with my father to go fishing. Our fishing camp was the place to hang out for the little village kids. The kids soon became the highlight of our trip. We communicated with them as best as we could through broken English and Spanish every day when we returned from the lake. When it was time to leave, they gathered around the van that took us to the airport. I took one of the kids aside (he had been the child who visited with us the most), showed him The French Drop and how to perform it. His eyes lit up, and you would have thought he was the happiest boy in the world....

The reason I perform an art as this one. It is because the utter shock of the spectator, the speechless faces, and most of all the laughter! I can't help but smile after a trick. I just feel too happy!

Thanks, everyone, I needed that...

Some real Magic in those stories...

Dc, that was awesome. I work with children with autism, adhd, ocd, ect. They enjoy my magic, but they never know how much I enjoy making them smile

Simply amazing guys! It's wonderful to hear all these stories. I sometimes
get caught up in trying to perfect all my moves that to much time passes by. These stories are what it's all about!
My eyes were opened to this incredible art about 11 years ago.I always said I wouldn't want to do kids shows, don't ask why. Two weeks ago I did my first official kids show and it was truly rewarding. The biggest lesson learned was that it was about the entertainment, the magical moments, not so much about me.