Everybody seemed to know George as soon as he walked in. He’s friendly and he’s charming.
I was at the front counter of a Jack’s restaurant waiting for my Tuesday dinner. Most of the employees were busy, but George was soon attracting an audience of employees and customers. His charm was magnetic enough that it was hard to walk away.
He brought in a box filled with magic tricks. Someone in the back called out for him to do with one with balancing nails and everybody was soon laughing. George is a regular in the restaurant, but I’d never seen him, since he’s a fixture at breakfast time instead of the evening.
He had me write down a number for him and with a bit of trickery, he knew my number. He used the same system to “guess” someone else’s number. I could generally tell how the trick worked, but I didn’t really care. George was having such a good time — and his audience was so happy — that nobody really cared how the tricks worked.
George told me that he’s been doing magic tricks in various forms since he was 5 years old. A man who lived near his family showed him how to pull a quarter from someone’s ear — and he was hooked. He still works a job at the local airport, but he performs every chance he gets — birthday parties, church gatherings, whatever. I got the feeling George would pay people to let him perform.
There are a million magicians around, so somebody might say there was nothing special about George’s show. But that somebody would be wrong. It’s not the tricks that makes what George does fun. He’s more of a showman than just a magician.
That’s the thing that made this little show special. Nobody was paying for it. Nobody planned it. Everybody had to get back to their work or their dinner quickly.
But for just a few minutes, there was a show going on at the front counter of this fast food joint. And for those few minutes, we were as entertained as we would have been if he had been a professional on a Las Vegas stage.
George obviously loves what he does. The people who know him love him, too.
I wish we were all lucky enough to find something we love as much as George loves performing for an audience. The world needs more people like George — and each of us needs something that makes us as passionate and charming as George becomes when he holds a willing audience in the palm of his hand.