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If I could have chosen any profession growing up I would have been a stage magician. I always found that form of entertainment exotic and fascinating. My generation grew up watching David Copperfield. Incidentally, I had just finished his book on the history of magic and I was enthralled from beginning to end. However, my favorite magician was Leon Mandrake. Not only was he the inspiration for Lee Faulk’s wonderful Mandrake the Magician, he just looked really cool — the top hat, the tuxedo, the pencil mustache and the cane. In fact, I went trick-or-treating one year as mandrake, and yes, I was a child when I went.

I remember reading books about Houdini and others and trying out little tricks as my younger brother watched. But alas, my dreams of standing on a stage as the lights flashed around me with the young female assistant moving around the stage detracting the audience while I performed my illusions was not meant to be. After all, I grew up in Cash Hollow, a spot on the map that looks like a bug stain, so I did the next best thing. I began writing and I created my own prestidigitator (my favorite word by the way) in one of my novels. Although I could try and talk Lorie into letting me try the cutting in half trick on her, I mean what could happen? Oh, she just said no, so never mind.

In today’s world everything is revealed via the Internet but I believe you should still look up some of the great prestidigitators and be taken away for a moment by the skill and technique of some true show people.

SNOW, BAH, HUMBUG Or is it?

Lorie Ann McReynolds

I am my mother’s daughter. Which means, she disliked the snow and I now dislike the snow. I didn’t always have this distaste for the white, fluffy stuff. As a little girl, I loved it. Snow was my friend when it would cancel school for the day or sometimes for the whole week. But as a grown woman, I think about the calamities that it can cause. Car accidents, trees falling, downed power lines, and being stranded on the interstate. Those are all fears of mine. Especially now being on my own.

However, when I see the snow now, it does recall some good memories. Again, as a young girl, I loved snow days. My sister and her family lived beside me and my parents. My sister and my niece would walk up to our house, and we would play a little bit outside in the cold, wonderful, winter wonderland of the rolling white mounds of ice. And then when we would get too cold, we would come inside and be greeted with the smell of macaroni and tomatoes. My mom made the best macaroni and tomatoes. Something I have yet to achieve. I can never make mine taste like hers. We would fill our bowls to the top. Then add a little butter and pepper to it. It was like a feast. After we ate, we would play games all day. UNO, Trouble, and Rummy to name a few.

Those snow days are some of my best memories. So, when the beautiful, white, sparkling snow starts to fall, I need to remember that wonderful memories were made because of it. I also need to remember that sometimes God calms the storm. But other times, He lets the storm rage and calms His child. So maybe it is a humbug now, but as a child and for children everywhere I am sure it is still a magical wonderful place when the world turns white overnight and early in the morning when school is called off the mittens and coats are hurriedly put on. Then the reminders begin, “don’t track that snow into the house.”

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Geronimo his tale by him, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

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Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Geronimo his tale by him, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

2QN7F4L2STFTR