:: Why I Do It..

Life ain't fair.

No.. that's not an opinion, that's a fact. And that's exactly why I write this blog, that's why I perform close-up and not stage magic, that's why I live in Spartanburg and not New York or L.A. ..

Because, as Popeye said, " I yam what I yam.."

But, what I yam is what I HAVE to be, and not necessarily what I WANT to be..

I'm a people-watcher. Actually, at one time in my life I got paid nicely to 'watch' people, and pick out the winners from the losers, the normal from the abnormal, the patriot from the anarchist.

In the process, I think I became quite good at the psychology of figuring out "who succeeds.. and who doesn't.. and why.

Some magicians are destined to succeed. That's where the forementioned 'unfair' part comes in.. That's also why I will never be David Copperfield, or Lance Burton, or Andrew Mayne.

I just don't have 'the look'.

Did you ever stop to wonder why so many actors are good looking? Could it be that only good looking guys have the necessary talent to act? I pondered that question for awhile, and then "thump", like a beer bottle up side the head, it came to me in a flash of naive adolescence...

You have to have the 'look'.

Can you name ONE homely guy with his own stage show in Vegas? (unless he also happens to be a comedian..)

You see, I don't have the look. Never did. Never will.

But, just to throw a monkey wrench in the mix, you can succeed without the look IF you have 'the voice'. Yes, 'the voice' will get you up the ladder. Look at Eugene Burger. Eugene not only has the voice, but he has combined it with a very 'magical' and 'wizard-like' look to achieve stardom. You can say the same for Max Maven.

I don't have 'the voice'. Never did. Never will.

I have a voice that's best suited for writing, and a face best suited for radio. Speaking of radio, my brother, Ken (rest his soul), looked like me, but he had the 'voice'. He got his first job in radio at WTYN in Tryon, N.C. fresh out of high school. Ken quickly went from Tryon, to Macon, to Ft. Lauderdale, to Greenville SC, to Charlotte - moving up the ladder at each stop.

What was I doing at that time? Watching people and performing card tricks..

Ken had a show in Charlotte that was the lead-in for the nationally syndicated 'John Boy and Billy Show'.

I was perfecting my double lift.

Ken got 'the call', and moved on to Memphis to take over the morning show at a mega station. He gets to interview everybody in-studio ; Kiss, Eagles, Lynard Skynard, Buddy Guy, Robert Plant.. just to name a couple. He's the MC for all the rock acts coming through Memphis who perform at the Pyramid or Mid South.

You see.. Ken's got 'the voice'. We look like twins. My IQ is five points higher, a point of great contention, despite his success. But as I noted above, even if you have 'it', you still don't have 'it all'... Remember - life ain't fair - just ask Copperfield. Yeah, I know he makes fifty seven million a year, but he doesn't have a certain super model any more - now does he?

I've got the double lift down pat at this point, and I'm starting to develop a unique faro shuffle that will make me famous at my neighborhood pub..

Ken... his 'buds' are dropping by the studio all the time. Jim Varney ( Ernest ) shows up many mornings, vodka and tonic in hand, to cut up in the studio, and later they carry their revelry way into the night . His new 'best bud' is Joe Walsh ( James Gang, Eagles ), who comes to town frequently so they can 'go fishing'.. I don't know if Ken ever baited a hook in his entire life, but I know for a fact that I shook hands one time with that guy with the real long hair from the Oak Ridge Boys..

I moved from one end of Spartanburg county to the other.. Ken moved from Memphis to Atlanta, just the next step up his ladder, I suppose.

I'm into jazz now. Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, Jean luc Ponty. Ken takes over the reins at Atlanta's premier jazz station. I'm not jealous. After all, I understand that it's just not in the stars for me...

He's at the Fox Theatre on the weekends, introducing whoever comes through town to the masses..

I mastered the faro. My wife asked me if I have to 'flip' those cards all the time. She doesn't understand that if you don't have the 'look' or the 'voice', then you better have " THE shuffle ".

It's 1999 and Ken's gone. I told you life wasn't fair. Even when you have it all, you don't really have it all..

But... I can say with all honesty that I have "the blog"... Well, maybe not "the blog", but definitely "a blog", and I write it, you read it, I don't see you, you don't see me...

In your eyes, I could be David Copperfield or Eugene Burger. Hey, that's not so bad! After all, all I need to do is 'WOW' you with my humble talent. I can't sing, can't talk, don't look like much, have a real dry sense of humor...

But.. I have a 'killer' faro, can double lift with the best, can even cut the deck to the dead center time after time. Oh, and I have a blog...

I suppose in the immortal words of Joe Walsh, "life's been good to me so far.."