July 24th and 24 consecutive days of rain. Tired of stories about rain? Me too.
So now for something completely different. Back in the summer of 1974 I was in Chicago and got my first captain’s job running a 42 foot Hatteras Tri-cabin motor yacht. I’d get off work in the afternoon and go to meet my girlfriend at the building where she worked in the Loop. I’d usually get there earlier than most people got out of work so I’d hang out at the small bar next door to her office building. I’d often be the only one there. The bar tender was an old guy who had once been one of the best sleight of hand men in the business. Every now and then he’d do a couple of tricks for me as a way of passing some time. I know a little bit about magic and trying to keep your eye on the off hand and not to be diverted but I was never successful. He would amaze me time after time. But he’d never do the same trick twice in one sitting.
On the other hand, Rene Lavand, an Argentinian who lost his right hand in a car accident when he was nine, isn’t afraid at all of repeating a trick over and over, and you NEVER catch him. I don’t remember the first time I saw him on television but it was years ago.
One More Good Adventure 