Bill the Englishman — An Essay by Barry GibbsInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

During the first couple of years I lived in West Palm Beach it seemed like no matter where I went I would see a man walking the streets. I would see him at the mall, at one end of town and then the other. He always wore a white shirt and tan pants. I never saw him dressed differently.

About 6 months after I opened A&B Novelties “Bill” popped in the door one day and introduced himself. After talking for awhile it was obvious that he was very eccentric, but also very intelligent. Bill was a retired engineer from England, and truly a mathematical genius.

You could tell him your birth date and in matter of seconds he would tell you what day you were born on.

Bill survived on a small pension from England and also Social Security, and lived in an old run down hotel in downtown West Palm Beach.

He went on to say that he also was a magician, and then went into great detail explaining his version of the “Indian Mango Trick”, in which the magician plants a seed in a small pot and after covering it with a scarf, the seed grows into a small plant. Each time you cover it, it grows larger, until finally it becomes a small bush. Bill said he had his version of the trick at the hotel he stayed in.

Well, I have always been a sucker for puppy dogs and kids and Bill reminded me of both, so I told him all about IBM Ring #117 and invited him to a meeting.

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You could tell him your birth date and in matter of seconds he would tell you what day you were born on.

Bill survived on a small pension from England and also Social Security, and lived in an old run down hotel in downtown West Palm Beach.

Well, I have always been a sucker for puppy dogs and kids and Bill reminded me of both, so I told him all about IBM Ring #117 and invited him to a meeting.

The Ring by now had moved to the Moose Lodge in West Palm, and believe it or not, at the next meeting Bill showed up and continued to come to the monthly meetings.

He became know as the “Englishman”

We now come to a very touchy subject with me, and it revolves around “performing” after the business meeting was over. This was generally done on a volunteer basis, and several members always volunteered to do “something” at each meeting.

Others just sat and watched and never performed, but I guess many magic clubs are like that.

Anyway, “Bill” always volunteered to perform at every meeting. He would do some very corny jokes and then his version of the “Indian Mango Trick”. He would wrap a red bandanna around his head, which incidentally he always wore around his neck, and act the part of an “Indian Mystic”. He always got laughs when he performed and a number of the members enjoyed Bill, but some didn’t. It was the some that didn’t that irked me, as they consisted mainly of the non-performers, who were simply at the meetings to be entertained and learn a new secret.

This is the point of the story. To me “Bill” was a harmless, almost homeless, lonely man. I felt that if attending a magic meeting once a month helped him overcome some of his loneliness, then the IBM Ring was serving a very good purpose.

After the meeting, we would always either go to a restaurant for coffee and donuts, etc., or I would invite all the members over to A&B Novelties for coffee and donuts. Either way, since Bill had very little money at all, he did at least get to eat. At the restaurants there were always several of us who would pick up Bill’s “tab”, and of course at A&B Novelties I “picked up the tab” for everyone.

Also, someone would always drive Bill home, which was about 4 miles from the Moose Lodge and 5 miles from A&B Novelties.

Eventually a number of Ring #117, who evidently felt the way I did, got together and paid his membership dues into the IBM. He was thrilled the night he was presented with his membership certificate, and when he began receiving his Linking Ring magazine, he carried the copies with him everywhere he went.

Finally, at one annual banquet, Bill, dressed in his tan pants, white shirt and bandanna was allowed to perform hisfamous “routine”. He was received quite well, with a nice round of applause at the finish of his act. Bill was absolutely thrilled as he had finally made the “big time”.

To me that was magic, to take a poor, almost homeless man, who loved magic, and make him a part of a worldwide magic organization. That is what true magic is all about, helping others less fortunate than yourself.

Barry M. Gibbs