Such
is Life
A few years ago, while wearing
out my credit card to attend a magic convention
on the other side of the country, I was visiting
a magician friend at the bar who had spent nothing
to be at the same function. I had to give this
some thought.
Magic conventions seem to exist
and succeed for several reasons. Most attendees,
I assume, attend for the big evening shows.
Others find the lectures to be of most value.
Still many others feel the dealer room is where
it all happens. In recent years the close up
shows have risen in popularity. Finally, some
may feel it's necessary to take it all in to
receive the best bang for their buck.
There are those of us though,
myself included, who have about burned out on
big evening shows, close up shows, contests,
dealers shows, and lectures. Yet we still make
the annual pilgrimage to DMS or whatever. Many
of us hit several of the things a year both
in and out of the U.S. So if we are no longer
interested in the events of the conference what's
the attractions
Fellowship
That's
it. Fellowship; we simply attend to see old
friends, meet new friends, laugh, visit, gas
up a bit, and solve the problems of the magic
world. You see this at every convention, including
DMS. The action may be at the bar, the lobby,
the restaurant, or any convenient spot between
those locations. It's where the fun stuff happens.
There are the jokes, the gags, the bits of business,
the exaggerations, and the multitude of impromptu
shows. It's where the legends of magic creep
out and join the rank and file. It's the prelude
to the all night close up sessions, which for
me, in years past, made the conventions worth
the effort.
Have
I made the point? There are scheduled events,
and non-scheduled events. It's the non-scheduled
events which, to my way of thinking, make the
conventions the most fun. Many would agree.
Sadly,
an evil seer lurks within! Yikes! How can that
be? What could be evil about the fun and frivolity
of the bar action during the non scheduled events.
When you are next involved in one of the devil-may-care-anything-goes
fun fests at the bar or lobby look around. You
will see many who are joining in and enjoying
themselves along with the others who are not
registered for the convention. Some feel since
they are only there to visit and see friends
there is no need or requirement to register.
The thought is, why pay the fee if they don't
attend any of the events. True perhaps, entirely
true. Why pay for shows, lectures, and entry
to the dealer room when they never attend a
single scheduled function or event?
On the
surface it seems and sounds all well and good.
Who could argue? Well, for one, I'll be more than
happy to argue the point. These people, though
they are doing nothing legally wrong, are FREELOADERS!
Plain and simple, they are magic freeloaders.
Look at it this way. They are there to have fun
and visit with friends. That's entirely legal.
What's the beef, it's a public place? Yet what
brings their friends to the venue? The convention,
that's what. What pays for the convention? Registrations,
that's what. Would those friends be there if there
were no convention? Probably not. Would there
be a convention if there were no registrations.
Absolutely not! Hence, they are magic freeloaders
taking advantage of what others are paying to
enjoy. In addition to the registration
fee many attendees spend literally hundreds of
dollars in air fares, cabs, meals, and hotels,
just to see the magic and visit with old friends.
Because these people keep the conventions alive
and well the magic freeloaders are able to cash
in on the fun for the price of a few beers. I'm
sorry to have to admit, my friend mentioned in
the beginning of this column is one of these magic
freeloaders. Such is life.
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