During the month of March Carol and I went to the Magic Capitol of the World, Las Vegas. We were there as invited dealers presenting our wares at the Las Vegas World Magic Summit. This is always an exciting time for us. We not only get to meet the greatest Magical enthusiasts from around the world, we get to bring old friendships up to date and make new ones. This year was no exception. Our daughter Kim and our grandchildren share our love for Magic and travel with us to most of the conventions. One of the highlights was introducing our grandson to Lance Burton and his manager Peter Raveen. I must add that Lance is Mikey's favorite Magician. One day at school, his teacher asked him to name a famous person… his answer… "Master Magician Lance Burton"Michael (I get to call him Mikey) is only five years old and has been interested in Magic for almost two years. Ask him to vanish a coin for you and you'll be pleasantly surprised. He has been working on a Magic routine for the past year and as part of that routine I made him a custom Straitjacket for his escape segment. I mentioned this to Peter and he said he would see if he could get an audience with Lance. Well, Lance has a soft spot for young magicians and each year sponsors a luncheon during the Summit for young magicians only. We were fortunate enough to get invited. It was a great treat to hear Lance discuss his thinking on Magic and the Magic scene. He is high on motivation and all the young people there savored every word. This year's added treat was a session with Lee Grabel and Co. Lee is truly a Master Magician and a Gentleman of the highest order. His experiences left you wanting to hear more and he, true to form left everyone entranced, moved and delighted. After that, Lance asked if Mikey could give a little demonstration of his Straitjacket Escape. I think you can tell from the expression on Lance's face, he was surprised & impressed by Mikey's presentation. Mikey also received a good round of applause from the 70 plus young magicians in attendance.
I can't say anything about Lance Burton that hasn't been said before. He has had the mantle of Master Magician handed down to him by Lee Grabel, successor to Thurston and has done this tribute proud. Lance does honor to Magic as few can. It is no wonder that Lance Burton is considered one of the greatest magical performers of our time. His humble and friendly nature, his love for our Art and his unselfishness with regards to the youth in our brotherhood, all serve to make him not only a great performer but also a great person.
I thank Lance and Peter for their time and consideration, and most of all; I thank them for their friendship. I look forward to seeing them again in January at the next World Summit, and you can be sure, Mikey will be there as well.
George R.
