The people you meet

I have a lot of stories that start this way......The other day a guy walks into my store and says, “My uncle used to do magic.” People have stories to tell. Some are reluctant and must be drawn out, some can’t be contained. Mostly, I find interesting what other people care about.

Back to the guy, “Oh...really...What kind of magic did he do?”

“Well he passed away, but he wrote some books for magicians.”

Now he has my interest. “What was his name?”

“Gene Poinc,” he replied.

Now he really has my interest. “Oh sure,” I try to keep my cool. We talk briefly about the books. He tells me that he was never really into magic, but Uncle Gene used to come over and show him some tricks. He was just the Uncle who did magic, like every other family. Then he drops a bomb into the conversation. “There are two more.”

“What?”

“I think Uncle Gene finished two other manuscripts, my other Uncle has them. Hey kids, this guy knows who Uncle Gene is.”

“Well, I hope he puts them out. Listen, I have a blog. If you are ever interested in sharing some memories of your Uncle, please write me.”

And then he leaves with his family clutching a piece of paper with my e-mail address on it. Just another too brief encounter, that’s daily life in a magic store.

Gene Poinc’s nephew is a former graphics artist who, now, is a schoolteacher. I hope he visits this blog and likes what he sees. I hope he sees that the magic world would love to hear his remembrances. Until, we will be dreaming of the other two books and the possibilities that they hold.