When he was 12, and I, age 9, my brother got a magic kit for Christmas. He was thrilled. But then, after a while, he looked disappointed.
There were false-bottomed cups, double-headed coins, all sorts of cunning devices to fool the audience, but there was no magic.
Finally, in the bottom of the box he found a booklet labeled "The Secret Of Magic." He backed away, turned around and opened the book.
He didn't look happy when he turned back, but he refused to tell me what the book said. Astute readers can figure that I'd not let the situation go like that: I sneaked into his room later and opened the book. It said, "The Secret of Magic is Practice."
Of course my brother was disappointed. Even when as old as 12, he wanted to believe in Magic. I wanted to believe. And the joy of fooling an audience by misdirection was a poor substitute for what we really wanted.
We wanted the real thing.
We wanted to transmute paper to money, to make birds appear in midair, to create without effort. Magic promised us that, but could only deliver tricks.
I'm somewhat older than 9 now. But I still want the magic promised in my brother's gaudy kit. And I've found it, a quarter-century later, in the most unexpected places.
Plain paper changes to money, thanks to credit. A handful of millet tossed on a snow covered lawn creates wrens and blue jays and cardinals from the winter air.
And when I flick a switch, my Christmas tree glows with a 'D thousand fireflies dancing in a borrowed summer. There is always Magic.
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We're grateful to Karen Douglas of the Howard County Parents for School Music for reminding us of the contributions music teachers and their departments make to our children's education.
Of local note, Howard County Parents for School Music welcome new teachers Charlene Critcher to Guilford and Stevens Forest Elementary schools, Alison Matuskey to Forest Ridge Elementary, Andrew Mollard to Bollman Bridge and Laurel Woods and Patrick Walls, who commutes between Atholton and Centennial elementary schools and Ellicott Mills and Wilde Lake Middle schools.
Call (410) 997-8433 to have your name added to HCPSM's newsletter.
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The Montpelier Cultural Arts Center presents two new exhibits during December in the center's Resident Artist's Gallery.
There will be a reception honoring Sushama Parikh and Barbara Stevens this Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Ms. Parikh exhibits new works inspired by her recent trip back to her native India.
Her new sculptures, pottery and fabric work draw heavily on traditional Indian motifs such as mandalas and fish.
Ms. Parikh has traveled extensively for her art, studing at Sir J.J. School of Arts in Bombay and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.
Barbara Stevens, an instructor in painting and drawing at the center, spent last summer as a watercolor instructor in Northern New Mexico.
She began her series "Western Chants" while there, inspired both by the natural beauty of the Southwest and the native motifs found among artists there.
Ms. Stevens has also traveledfor her art, exhibiting in the East zTC and Southwest. For more information, call the center at (410)792-0664 or (301) 953-1993
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Children's author and illustrator David Wisniewski will give a free book talk followed by a luncheon at noon next Friday at the Montpelier Cultural Arts Center.
Mr. Wisniewski has written five children's books. His illustration are not drawings, but rather layered paper cuttings.
The illustrations are incredibly clear-cut and sharp, but also very complex (they also reproduce well in printed books).
Mr. Wisniewski will speak both on his new book, "The Wave of the Sea Wolf," and on the entire book-writing process from original concept through publication.
The presentation is free, but reservations are required. Call the center at (410) 792-0664 or (301) 953-1993.
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Tonight, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. the South Columbia Baptist Church plays host to its fourth annual "Christmas Spoken Here," an open house for interested visitors to the church.
Every year the open house has gotten more elaborate. This year there will be a live nativity, a crafts-in-progress demonstration, two fine arts presentations in the Sanctuary, a children's room, a Christmas cafe and a church ministry area for those interested in learning more about the church.
The open house tour will be led by guides dressed in black and white, who will take visitors through a living room, dining room, family room and kitchen decorated with holiday greenery and special furniture.
The guides will explain some of the significance of the ornaments and the traditions associated with them. There's puppet-making, short crafts sessions, story-telling and a dress-up nativity in the children's room.
Once again, the church members thank Iris White for her fine efforts and organizational skills.