Red-Jack
Playland
Red-Jack
Playland By Mike Rogers
The first
time I ever saw a true close up miracle, one
that left me absolutely clueless and beguiled,
I was working the Red-Jack Playland. I doubt
if many magicians have heard of the Red-Jack
Playland, let alone played the room. The effect
shown to me was visual, easy to follow, and
in my eyes something truly impossible. There
was no story, no patter, no message, and no
complex or confusing props. It was simply a
miracle beyond belief. I had no idea magic could
look so wonderful. As a result I will always
remember the Red-Jack Playland. Let me explain.
In Lander,
Wyoming, as I was growing up during the 40s
and 50s, we enjoyed one annual week long event
that was always the highlight of the year. It
was the Lander Pioneer Days which occurred during
the week of July 4th. The celebration included
street events each evening, a large parade,
two days having a rodeo, and a carnival for
the entire week. Along with this came an odd
assortment of street vendors, gypsy fortune
tellers, grifters, and roustabouts looking to
make an extra buck working at the carnival or
rodeo. Naturally the heroes of the week were
rodeo cowboys themselves, for even though the
town was small the rodeo was a major event on
the rodeo circuit. Not only were we invaded
by these strange folks from distant places,
but the locals also became a bit irrational.
Everyone was encourage to forget the present
and revert to the past, all in the spirit of
Pioneer Days. Men forgot how to use a razor,
horse and buggies became the normal mode of
transportation, and everyone was "required"
to wear western attire. Those who refused to
don western wear stood the chance of being convicted
in Kangaroo Court and bodily tossed in a large
cattle watering trough located in the center
of town, much to the delight of all the kids.
Little did we know that much of this was all
staged.
For me
the bright spot of the week was the nightly
carnival, for it was there I had a chance to
see illusions such as the Headless Woman, the
Electric Chair, the Blade Box, and an occasional
geek poking nails in his nose while walking
on glass. These were unwelcome subjects at the
family dinner table, but exciting stuff for
me.
When
the week ended, the carnival, cowboys, gypsies,
and vendors moved on leaving behind a town filled
with litter and trash, along with a few depraved
human beings who were not there before the event.
These folks normally lasted about two weeks
before they too would be gone. Two such men
were Red and Jack, a couple of down on their
luck would be carnies who, for whatever reason,
were not welcome to move on with the real carnival
people. Red and Jack remained. They acquired
three pin ball machines, a soft drink machine,
and a rented broken down store front on the
seedy end of Main Street. Alas, the Red-Jack
Playland was born and open for business. Red
was a sleazy red headed smooth talking grifter
who had learned the art of fire eating. Jack
was a degenerate weasel. That tells it all.
In addition
to the pin ball machines the Red-Jack Playland
offered live entertainment every evening. The
program consisted of Red eating fire and Jack
making funny faces with his dentures removed.
As you might imagine this live revue fizzled
after the second night, for the audience of
a dozen kids, along with a few town drunks,
quickly become bored.
You guessed
it. The local teenage magician became a welcome
addition to the cast of characters. Hence, the
show lasted for a third performance. Armed with
a Squared Circle, Blendo, Milk Pitcher and Linking
Rings, I became the star performer at the Red-Jack
Playland, for one night only, a performance
for which I have yet to receive a check.
Within
a week Red took a powder, taking with him the
few profits they might have made. Jack was left
holding the bag with not enough money to pay
the rent or even buy a decent meal. He too was
soon gone, and the Red-Jack Playland was history,
having enjoyed a short life of less than one
week. Not only did I lose a performing venue,
but I'm still waiting for the check.
Not all
was a loss, for in his time Red had learned
a few magic tricks and it's one of these tricks
to which I have alluded in the opening of this
missive. This effect has everything any magician
could ever want in a magical trick. Mystery,
surprise, and visual appeal, all with no logical
explanation as to the method. I was befuddled,
for I had never seen anything so mystifying.
Here's what Red did while standing only three
feet from my eyes. He showed me a deck of cards
riffling them to show all the different cards.
He then cut the deck, riffled again and every
card in the deck was the same. It was a damn
miracle!!!
At that
point in my life nothing could have been more
magical. It's still true today.
Red gave
me the deck which I still own. I have never used
a Svengali Deck, but I will treasure that one
forever. Because of that wonderful moment of experiencing
what seemed to be real magic, I have been paid
many times over for my one performance at the
Red-Jack Playland.
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