Personal Narrative: Richard Turner's Card Illusions

Two days into the school year, I was quietly sitting down at a cafeteria table, eating my lunch. I was still mapping out the social complexities of my new elementary school.

I was a third grade boy sitting by myself, still adjusting to my new school. Down the table sat a group of large fifth grade boys, and I was eavesdropping on their conversation. After overhearing one of the boys brag about his ostensibly impressive career as a precocious magician, I had begun to finger the deck of cards in my pocket. Tens of hours of practicing routines and watching Richard Turner’s card illusions DVD set had culminated to this one moment. I opened the deck of cards near my lunch box, flourishing them out across the smooth table, and curiously asked the boy who had

“Tell me when to stop...okay, good. Take the card without showing me. That will be your card. Put it back in the deck…”, I couldn't help myself, and began losing my cool—filling myself with a smile and voice of satisfaction and delight. After revealing the card at the end of the illusion, the boys began getting out of their seats and surrounded me with jubilance, asking me to show them another trick. They began making loud noise of excitement while I began performing my next trick, and soon their volume had attracted the curiosity of boys and girls from other tables. Soon at least twenty kids were surrounding me, watching me perform my card illusions.

When the bell rang and it was time to go back to class, two boys from my class who were watching my lunch table performance walked with me. They introduced themselves, asked if I was new, and had quickly invited me over to play GameCube that Saturday. After performing fifteen minutes of card tricks during lunch, I had not only become “Ryan the Magic Kid,” but had also found by two new best friends for the next ten years, Sean and