Image of Juliet Berto, credit Jonathan Rosenbaum
Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the sixteenth of twenty-six interactive magic tricks that will lead you to your fortune as you determine it.
As per the 21 March intro to this magic act, my assistant, Juliet Berto, handed me the Collins Concise* and blindfold me, whereupon I randomly riffled through the P’s and landed my fingertip randomly on a page. And when Juliet removed the blindfold, there was no doubt: my fingertip was squarely on “poultice.”
And while Juliet was offstage conjuring the banner you see at the top of this post, I wildly jotted down the paragraph below in the Moment Of Meant To Be.** Now, the rest of this trick is up to you, Ladies and Gents!
If it pleases you, merely read the paragraph below and record what predominant meaning the sum of those words strikes in your heart. And for every trick after this, from Q to Z, you may do the same. And when I have pulled from the hat the essence of the random word of Z, and you have pondered its significance, you may allow the accumulative magic of all tricks A-Z to reveal to you your fortune.
THE “P” PARAGRAPH: Poultice
A modern day snake oil salesman rolled into town pulling a medicine show wagon with an immaculate 1978 Ford pickup. He was an attractive man with dark hair and blue eyes and an aura of knowing and quiet power, and he was selling a poultice purported to draw out all that you don’t like about yourself and what you’ve become. You never know, it might just work, and it was only $1.99 for an 8oz. jelly jar filled with it, so the majority of us bought at least one jar. Most folks put the jars on their mantles or night tables. But some of us went around for many days covered in his mud. Whether we wore it or not, we all compared notes as to the degree we were being positively changed from the inside out, and we could not stop talking about the day the salesman came to town. Some of us remember seeing two nubs on his back where wings might have been, and think maybe he fell from heaven and is having to sell his magic mud until new wings grow back. Some think the sparkle in his blue eyes is as stardust falling from the sky and doing its transforming work, and that the selling of the mud is just for those who don’t believe in getting something for free. A handful of us say it’s all bunk, which causes all the rest of us to smile and wink, whereas before we’d have divided the town in two and ne’er would the twain have met. Whatever the case may be, we feel honored that the salesman saw fit to visit our tiny, nowhere town, and to offer us a taste of his knowing and quiet power. So in his memory—for he may never come this way again—in the town square where he parked his wagon, we have erected a statue made in his likeness. That way, if he ever does choose to return, he’ll see we didn’t take him lightly, and any visitors to our town will see we have given a great man a home.
This ditty was dashed off with two short stories in mind that were written by the great and recently late canonical writer, Gabriel García Márquez, 3/6/1927 to April 17, 2014.
Share your predominant thought with the audience or keep it a secret. As always, it’s entirely up to you.
Until next time, look for the magic and you will find it!
Fin
DON’T MISS A TRICK!
The Grand Reveal – 21 March 2014
Trick A – Albanian – 1 April 2014
Trick B – Black Forest – 2 April 2014
Trick C – Claw – 3 April 2014
Trick D – Docket – 4 April 2014
Trick E – Endanger – 5 April 2014
Trick F – Finicky – 7 April 2014
Trick G – Grave – 8 April 2014
Trick H – Harvester – 9 April 2014
Trick I – Inevitable – 10 April 2014
Trick J – Jukebox – 11 April 2014
Trick K – Keyhole – 12 April 2014
Trick L – Liberal Arts – 14 April 2014
Trick M – Masking Tape – 15 April 2014
Trick N – Nonce – 16 April 2014
Trick O – Occult – 17 April 2014
* The Collins Concise Dictionary Of The English Language, Second Edition 1988, Collins – London and Glasgow
**the Moment Of Meant To Be is the instant of lucidness that arises from the contemplation of any given thing and subsequently reveals the essence of it. These Moments will be dashed off in paragraphs of 200 words or less and may be dark or shining, delirious or rational, but each paragraph will stir thoughts and feelings that lead to a meaning unique to you.
The Essence of a Thing 