About Old Sleight Of Old Hands

Today was weird. I just returned from a gig. Lot's of people and one old lady in particular came up to me telling me that she used to be a magic assistant. I was interested and talked to her a little longer. It is so weird to hear an old lady (she is in her 80's) talking about a magic era long past. How she was levitating and how that darn thing never seemed to work properly. She use the proper terminology and then she showed me a retention of vision vanish with a coin that she worked on for many years.

It was an interesting move. Basically she was clipping the dollar sized coin between her index finger and middle finger. Then she twisted the finger, so the middle finger would be on top of the index finger. That put the coin into a very exposed and stylistic position. Then she placed the coin into the other hand which she was holding above the finger clipped coin, somehow managing to thumb palm that coin in the process. Basically, what was so bold about the move was, that she released the coin the second it went into the other hand... and gravity made the coin fall into the thumb palm. I have never seen that sort of a coin vanish. She claims she come up with this. And I have no reason to doubt that.

It was done so beautifully and gracefully that I was in awe. Her really old finger, barely able to carry the stuff she bought that day could still do that sort of finger flicking action.

I asked her if she ever did that on stage. She told me that the guy she worked for would not have appreciated that sort of work from his assistant.

What a weird day.