Monday, August 21, 2006

Black Magic

From a time long ago and a place far away I had a young student. He was an accelerated learner, loved to read, study and practice. He left Cincinnati years ago never to return. I hadn't seen him since. . . till the other night.

It was Friday night and I had decided to work Hollywood & Highland. I approached the spot where I had worked a week earlier and there stood a strange man with a duck. . . doing tricks.

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It took me a while before I recognized who it was. My old friend James Moore aka L.O. Quint aka Black Magic. We spent the evening swapping off shows and catching up.

The funniest thing he did was put the duck in a harness, tie the duck up with the leash, stick it in a big brass bucket, cover it with a big scarf and 30 seconds later the duck emerged free of it's restraints. Made me laugh.

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He told anyone that would listen that I was the guy who taught him how to do magic, and how I had changed his life. Sometimes I get uncomfortable with friends elevating me to guru status or something. I find it hard to believe that I have touched so many lives. I don't get it, maybe I've actually done some good in this life.

I have tried to do right by my art, follow my heart and live my dream. And for this I get four kids who are rapidly becoming strangers.

Life is good, what do I have to complain about. I have a woman who loves me and is the world to me. We live in a beautiful home, have a LOT of fun and and bare our souls, among other things, to each other. . . frequently.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I was twelve years old, all I got for my birthday was a duck, so I tied a string to my duck and took my duck for a walk... I saw suzie up in a tree house and she asked me what the duck was for, I told her it was my birthday present. She asked if she could have it. I said "for a fuck. I'll give you the duck. To my astonishment she agreed! When we were done I asked her if I could have my duck back because my mom would wonder where it was. She said, "if you give me another fuck, I'll give you the duck." Who could resist! Afterward, I was walking home and believe it or not a guy driving a steam roller ran over my duck. I began to cry and the man reached into his pocket and said, "here kid, all I got is two bucks, sorry!"
Well, when I got home my mom asked me where my duck was? I said, "mom, you ain't gonna believe this, but I got a fuck for a duck and duck for a fuck and two bucks for a fucked up duck!!!"

Funny, not funny?

Anonymous said...

Tom,
Thanks for the blog.It was great to see James smiling face once more, and to hear from you as well.

But I would like to remind you that his accelerated learning was due to his practicing on my time. I should at least get a plug.

My best to you, and please send my best to James on your next meeting.

Doug

Anonymous said...

Doug - thats funny! James probably did spend more time in Tom's shop than yours.

Thanks for posting about him, Tom. I didn't recognize him at first either, but had often wondered where he was and what he was doing.

Brett