Back when I was in fourth grade, one of the most exciting things to happen at school was a magic show performed during assembly by a visiting magician. By now, you probably have in mind the image of a cheesy stage magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat like the one in the image here (which is why I posted it). Rabbits were pulled out of a hat, yes. But the magician also had a cabinet into which his assistant went.
The cabinet door closed. The magician waved his hand and said a magic word that of course you know:
Abracadabra!
The excitement in the room was palpable. (Yes, I know that is a cliché, but it fits the mood.)
The magician waved his hands and said another magic word. Say it with me:
The lights briefly dimmed, then brightened. When the cabinet door opened, the assistant had vanished!
We laughed. We shrieked. We were delighted.
The magician waved his hands again and said, “Abracadabra!” The lights dimmed. When he said,
the lights turned fully on, the door opened, and we could see that the assistant was there!
Okay, I get it. You’re not surprised by that reveal. Well, maybe this will surprise you. Remember the post about an Amazon card giveaway? Click here for that if you don’t. Instead of one winner, two were chosen to receive the $25 Amazon card. Abracadabra! I will now make the two winners appear! I can’t dim the lights where you are, but imagine them dimming. I will say the magic word:
The lights return to reveal . . .
and
You are the winners! Please comment below to confirm.
Thank you to all who commented.
Magician image from https://en.ac-illust.com/ First Presto from clipart101.com. Second Presto by L. Marie. Dimming lightbulb by Giphy.
El Space--The Blog of L. Marie 
Mark and Nicki are the lucky ones, but you created the magic, L. Marie! Congratulations all around!
Awww. Thank you, Marian! I’m glad that old magic show has some use even now. 😁
All I could think of is Bullwinkle saying ‘nothing up my sleeve’ when I saw the post. 😁
Ha! 😁 A good one! I am dating myself here, but I remember that being a recurring catchphrase on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show as they introduced one of the cartoons on the show.
That’s where I remember it from. It was always the wrong hat.
Yep!
Okay, congrats to Mark & Nicki…but I most enjoyed your story this morning, L.Marie! Thank you for a fun read!
Glad to provide it, Laura! 😁 To this day, I remember how excited I was for that magic show. I remember thinking it was the best assembly ever. I’m not sure what schools need to do now to entertain kids who have expensive technology at their fingertips.
You’d be surprised…I volunteered at different types of schools regularly in various capacities (assemblies, one-on-one, individual classes, etc) and found that those personal interactions took center stage to any ‘tech show’ in kids’ engagement, enthusiasm and response. Seriously.
Yeah, there’s hope!!!!
😎
A magician is a man (woman ? ) who has nothing in his head : all is in the hat !! 🙂
Love ❤
MIchel
Lovely to see you here, Michel. Hope you are well. Love to you and Janine. ❤️
A masterfully fun story from a wonderful storyteller!
Thank you, Sharon! 😄
Congratulations to them both – I hope you’re not planning to saw them in half now, though…! 😀
Congrats to both and Happy Birthday MONTH to you!
Thank you, Nancy!
Wow! Thank you, L. Marie. That’s some trick! I promise to make good use of the card.
I sent the card. Youmight check your email in a few minutes.
Thanks, I’m confirming here!
Is the gmail address you listed the one to use for the card? I emailed that address just to confirm.