not face paint related but......

I will never understand why a child needs to suffer!

tonight I performed that the buzz inn and it broke my heart.
a family came in to see my show and they had all their children.
the kids were very excited to see me as friends of theirs told them all about my shows. the youngest child waited patiently for me to do a trick with her, and when I started this little 3 year old looked me dead in the eye and said " i know you do magic, will you please use your magic to help mommy not to cry when I go see the doctor?"

i do not know about you but for me that stunned me so bad that I literally could not think of anything to say. I looked over at mom and she quietly explained that the young girl had been going through kemo as she had cancer. at this point I could not perform my normal routines as they really seemed a bit trivial and had no meaning that would befit this young soul. her belief is my magic was so strong that no one could tell her that I was just and entertainer.

so she and I performed the most sacred of magical rituals.
we blessed her family,
we blessed her friends.
and we blessed her with the strength and courage to over come any obstacle that stood in the way of her dreams. by the time we had finished with me presentations at her table there was not a dry eye anywhere close to her table. all except for her...she was lit up and beaming in her faith that all will be right in the world as her magic would make it so.

she taught me that there is real magic in the world, and that pure joy of life can give meaning to the most trivial things if you let it.
I am humbled by her brave heart and pure love.

How beautiful....

Yes... I believe in magic too....
You touched hearts, and that's the greatest magic there is for me!

Dear Michael Magick:
I have been volunteering at SickKids Hospital for 15 years.
Every couple of years, SickKids Volunteer Resources puts on a weekend educational event. About ten years ago, the topic was "Palliative Care". We were shown a movie in the hospital's movie theatre. A ten year old girl with inoperable, terminal glioblastoma looked into the camera lens and said, "I don't like to talk to my Mom about this because it makes her cry. I don't want to make her sad." Toward the end of the movie, the ten year old, in a straight forward matter-of-fact way stated, "I know I am going to die. What some people don't think about is that I am living, every day." When the lights came on in the theatre, there was not a dry eye in the house.

Watching your magic show is NOT trivial in the face of a senseless disease. You are creating wonder, if only for a few moments in time. The blessing you gave to the family was the real magic.

The other thing to know is the advances that have been made in battling childhood leukaemia are astounding in the last 15 years. The survival rates have gone up in most areas of childhood cancers.

Parents are the ones really struggling with the idea of the seriousness of the disease their child has. The children don't seem to understand mortality because every day, they are living.

Not a dry eye here, either. I hate that children ever have to suffer or be ill. I spent two days last week with my little boy in the Sick Kids' Hospital here in Edinburgh, and it was just heartbreaking. I know it's life, but...gah. So sad.

Children are the bravest and most dignified among us.

yes, last nights show will haunt me for many years. the power and force of will exuded from that little girl was rivaled only by her pure love.

that sweet baby! how heartbreaking--- I hope that family can find comfort and strength through this all!

Wow.

from the mouth of babes comes the wisdom of the universe.....until last night I did not comprehend the meaning of that phrase.

Oh wow. Ack, crying now.

Thank you for sharing Michael and Fess. Amazing stories.

Such a touching thing in the face of the one of the most tragic things I can think of.

Michael, may I share your story with my local magic club? We are doing Relay for Life in June and I think it would be very helpful.

You gave her "hope". There is nothing more fulfilling then giving hope to somebody that has lost it. You have given her the most beautiful gift you could have. There is no limit when we make up our mind ..... everything moves to the direction of possible if we believe it; what you called magic is the unlimited dormant power we each posses within and what you have done is awaken it.
This is wonderful.

Wow, that just filled me with joy, to think, you played such an important role in that little girl's life. She will always remember that moment and so will her family. This was so special. Thank you for sharing.

I echo Jody, thank you for sharing.