Hereditary Magic

Here are two personal stories about how magic may be a part of your life more than you realize. I never expected that my own family members already knew magic tricks of their own. I came to realize that most people may remember someone in their family performing tricks of some kind, be they "parlour tricks" or "bar tricks" and they may even have learned a few on their own.

In June I was visiting my aunt and uncle and was telling them my interest in magic when Uncle Bob tells me his specialty is Cup and Balls. Now I've been spending a lot of time with card tricks and mentalism, so I hadn't yet tried my hand at Cup and Balls and wasn't sure what the routine was. So there in the living room Uncle Bob did his Cup and Ball routine and I was very impressed. I caught on with some tips from him, and I later went home and a few days later I practiced it over and over one day while my girlfriend was asleep. So thanks to Uncle Bob, I can know perform "Uncle Bob's Cup and Ball Routine" if I ever need to :) One of the staples of magic that perhaps every magician should know how to perform even if they don't use it in their routine.

A few weeks later I had the opportunity to visit with my parents and 13 year old nephew when they came down on vacation and I was able to share with them for the first time my interest in performing magic. One day while talking my father asked me if I remembered "The Two Little Dickie Birds". I admitted it didn't come to mind immediately, but later at a dinner table at a Swiss Chalet he started to perform the Two Little Dickie Birds and as soon as he started the first line of the poem "Two Little Dickie Birds sitting on a wall..." I asked him immediately if one was named Peter and the named Paul... and I was right! Turns out my dad had shown this trick to us when we were very young, and I remembered the poem but not the trick. He learned it from his older brother Clare, who probably learned it from his maternal grandfather.

It it was quite a suprise, I never expected my own family to know magic tricks! Our waitress walked past as he was about to start and she said, "Two Little Dickie Birds right?" I remember that from when I was a kid." After that, he proceeded to show me a "bar trick" with a cigarette that he learned from my mother's grandfather. I remember seeing it before but had totally forgotten about it. I remember Great-Grandfather "Grinn" but don't remember a lot about him as he died when I was relatively young, but I felt like knowing this part of brings him a bit more into view. My mother also showed my a card manipulation she had learned from him, and I even picked up a tip on false shuffling from my nephew!

So magic seems to run in the family. Does it run in yours?