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So, at the age of 16, I started to peruse all the back issues of The NEW TOPS that I could gather. A few years before, Sandy Marshall, the son of Jay Marshall, had originated the "Young Guy" column and style, by presenting tricks, banter and a regular "Magician of the Month" feature. Sandy was a very funny writer and was full of quips, gags and know-how, with terrific insight into the magical scene. I remember being saddened when the decision was announced that Sandy would no longer write the "Young Guys" column because, after all, he was now a married man and heading pell-mell into full-grown maturity. I still miss Sandy Marshall's work in The NEW TOPS.
After Sandy came two "Young Guy" writers — Ed Fernandez and Harry George -- who both contributed a good share of style and ideas to magicdom through their TOPS writings. Their collective tenure with the TOPS amounted to somewhat more than a year.
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This is my last column under the "Young Guys" banner. Those who've kept tabs by reading all the way to the end of my scribblings know that, beginning next month, I'll be launching a new column in the NEW TOPS, under the heading, "Lost in the Forest." I hope you'll enjoy it.
Back in 1966, shortly after I had sold a short book to a publisher on the topic of UFOs, Neil Foster approached me and asked if I'd take over the "Young Guy" column then already appearing in The NEW TOPS. I was really taken aback, because I had been in magic only four years at the time (although my interest went back to 1958, when I was in the third grade and had had my sensibilities perplexed by a magician performing at the school). What could I write about that could possibly be of interest to other young magicians?
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