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GIRL ON FARMER<br />
Last<br />
week while headed into the library, I was<br />
walking behind a guy with flowy hair and wearing<br />
what can best be described as “groovy” pants. I<br />
had my eye on him because he was definitely the<br />
most interesting thing in view. When he got up to<br />
the doors he waved his hand with a flourish, like<br />
a magician, and the door automatically opened. I<br />
was very excited and impressed to see this. Then<br />
I realized it was an automatic door and wondered<br />
about what I had just witnessed. Did he always do<br />
this when he was going into a building? Did he know<br />
I was walking behind him? Did he maybe somewhere<br />
secretly think he was a little magical? Why?<br />
My disappointment that it was an automatic door is<br />
nothing new. I love magic. I really want to believe<br />
that it’s real. Actually, to be honest, despite<br />
facts and information that says otherwise, I do<br />
believe that some of it is real. Years ago, there<br />
was a show called “Breaking the Magician’s Code.”<br />
It was a supposed magician who wore a goofy<br />
looking mask and showed how tricks were done.<br />
I say “supposed” because everyone knows once<br />
you take the magician’s oath you cannot, under any<br />
circumstances, break it.<br />
I swore I would never watch the show, in solidarity<br />
with the real magicians. A few months ago, I broke<br />
down and watched an episode. It was horribly tacky<br />
and poorly done. The “magician” wore this goofy<br />
looking tribal mask to protect his identity and the<br />
voiceover guy spoke in a hushed tone explaining the<br />
trick. And, it revealed a trick that everyone knows<br />
is fake anyway! Sawing a lady in half? Duh. I know<br />
people are not able to be physically cut into two<br />
separate parts and then put back together without<br />
blood and stitches being involved. Now, take my<br />
watch off without me knowing and make it reappear<br />
in my back pocket – that’s real magic, buddy.<br />
Everything magical gets taken away as you get older;<br />
Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and of course<br />
the Magic Mirror. In case you don’t know, Magic<br />
Mirror was part of the PBS show “Romper Room.” It<br />
was early children’s television and was pretty much<br />
a sweet lady, Miss Molly doing fun stuff with a room<br />
of kids and puppets. At the end of each show Miss<br />
Molly would check in with all the kids and ask if they<br />
had a good day. After all those lucky in-studio brats<br />
shouted “yeah!” we peasants at home knew it was<br />
our turn for some attention from Miss Molly.<br />
“OK, friends at home, now I’m going to look through<br />
the magic mirror,” she’d say holding up what looked<br />
like a hand mirror but instead of the reflective area<br />
38 JAVA<br />
MAGAZINE
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