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OCTOBER 1980
That's the point where obscure and youthful I entered the scene. I considered myself one of the Foster proteges, although I never aspired to the sort of manipulative marvels of which Neil was (and remains) capable. Neil was my maven, sage and mentor; I was a tyro developing my own carefree style. I have been, and perhaps always will be, a great magical disappointment because I never lifted myself to Neil's level in terms of ability, but when it comes to friendship, we are (and I'm glad to say, were then) on an equal basis. Perhaps for that reason, Neil confided that he was having trouble keeping the "Young Guy" column a monthly feature because the writings were coming in so sporadically. He knew I loved to write, had written and published a book, and must therefore have something to offer. How he arrived at that conclusion I can't surmise, but I didn't want to question. I jumped at it.
My first column appeared in the November 1966 issue. I copied (and continue to copy) the style Sandy Marshall originated, offering ideas, comments, tricks, jokes (when they occur to me) and a monthly young magician. As a result, over the years, I estimate I have helped to introduce more than 125 "future greats" to the magical fraternity. And I find that very exciting.
"The Future Greats" -- that's the title of the column Bill Pitts used to write for the "old" TOPS in the days when Percy Abbott still thrived and Howard Mel son edited the TOPS. In a way, Bill's column was the original "Young Guy" column, and I'm happy to have been part of a tradition that goes back to the heyday of the TOPS and the Abbott company.
The aura of tradition is strong in magic. That's why I chose this month's column to be the last. Ever since the death of Houdini, October always has been an appropriate month in which to end things in the magical world. While I don't aspire to Houdini's greatness, it serves my purposes, for when "Lost in the Forest" begins in November, it will mark precisely the 14th anniversary of my first writings in the TOPS.
Before I move on to other things, I
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have to acknowledge the debt I owe Steve Kelley and the many others from the old International Club of Magic (now part of Magical Youths International). For it was he -- and they -- who helped me when I first plunged into magical writings. For a couple of years prior to my TOPS debut, I had written a column for the ICM's "Top Hat" magazine, which the MYI now publishes (and which still is a fine publication). That column, called "Miscellaneous", was my prototype for magical writing. When I reread those old "Miscellaneous" columns, I often cringe with embarrassment, so I'm thankful that Steve and my old ICM buddies stuck with me as I learned more about magic. I just hope that, 15 years from now, I won't reread my old "Young Guys" columns and cringe again.
Oh, I still haven't mentioned why I'm making the shift. As I've already mentioned here and there, I'm 30 years old now. I have a wife, a happy kid named Nathan who's almost 1 1/2, a house with a dwindling mortgage, a new car and the prospect of being 40 in just a short decade. Most young guys don't relate well to these things, and since I'm so strongly affected by them perhaps I should write for the older folks now. So I will.
I've been gathering material for "Lost in the Forest" for a couple of years. I'm not going to tell you a thing about it until you read it. However, I will tell you this" A regular (and often solitary) feature will be "Trying Times Magic" which will be a guide to saving money during these recessionary days.
I've already had a number of contributions from eminent magicians, and hope you'll send your ideas -- anything except card tricks -- to the address at the end of the column.
MAGICIAN OF THE MONTH: Steve Ballen is 18 years old and tells an unusual (in fact, bizarre) story about his magical beginnings. At the age of 9, he says, he was caught chasing his neighbors' poodle, and they tied him up for punishment (some neighbors!) He writes that he was immobilized for three hours before he was able to struggle free. In that same day, he went out and bought a book
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