(Reworked from a 2013 post.)
I am a magic nut. (Not like a pecan that can do tricks—I mean I’m crazy about magic.) We’re not magicians, but for many years we were members of the Magic Castle. The Castle is a private club in the Hollywood hills for magicians & lovers of magic. You have to be a member or guest of a member to get in. You enter the main Castle through the foyer. There’s no door from the foyer to the interior—you stand in front of a wall-to-wall bookcase, say “Open, sesame” & it slides open. Inside on the walls there were many portraits where the eyes “followed” you.
One of my
favorite things there was the piano, “Irma”. Irma was a lush was a souse liked her liquor. She would play
musical answers to your questions--the proper keys would be depressed--but there
was no human sitting there! It worked like a player piano, but fast
enough so you could have a conversation with her. If you asked her if
she’d like a drink, she’d play “How Dry I Am”. The waiter would bring in
a full glass & set it down on her, where it would quickly be drained
dry. When the waiter “86ed” her, refusing to serve her any more liquor,
she was likely to play “Show Me the Way to Go Home”. She was horny,
too. I once asked her what her favorite thing in the world was & she
played “Stout Hearted Men”.
There
were several rooms where they did close-up magic at a table & also two or
three theaters with stages. People from the audience were called up to participate.
It was always such fun!! I remember several times in one of the close-up
rooms where the magician put something in my hand & I closed my fist
tight. When I opened it, there was always something else there. One
night I was “assisting” a magician with a card trick. I can’t remember
how his routine went, but I do remember that my card was the 15 of clubs!!
Even the
restrooms were different. I have no personal knowledge of the men’s room,
but I have to believe it was as different as the ladies’. (My husband
says that all he can remember is that there were framed copies of the daily
newspaper on the wall above the urinals, so men who were able to multitask
could keep up with the day’s happenings.) There was a silver dollar
embedded in the ladies’ room floor which looked as if it had recently been
dropped. I don’t know how many people tried to pick it up--but I was one
of them. The liquid soap dispenser was a small replica of Michelangelo’s
“David”.
Guess
which part you had to pull down
to get
the creamy white liquid soap?
Hint: It
wasn’t the arm, but it was better than this:
We once
hosted a seance at the Castle. We invited five other couples for a total
of twelve people. We were seated at a large round table in a secluded
room. The four or five course gourmet meal was prepared by a private chef
& served by a private butler. Delicious!! After dinner we were
joined by a medium, who made us a group of thirteen. (A lot of spooky rapping,
noises & other goings on then!) We ended the seance by giving
everyone watches that we had had made, below. WHAT A FUN EVENING!!
They
looked like this, but with a band.
Some magic videos for you:
Now I’m
going to disappear. Presto!! I’m gone----fishducky
