Pitch me with in the pile of people who picked the Statue of Liberty vanish.
It's my first real memory of magic. I mean, maybe not really. Maybe I remember the local "Burger King" restaurant magician before him, or maybe that came after. Maybe I remember my Dad showing me a really basic card effect before that. Or maybe that came after.
All I know is, I for sure remember my Dad sitting in his chair. My Mom lying on the couch. Me lying on my stomach, in front of the television, comic book before me for reading during the commercials.
The camera shots of the crowds, I remember.
The announcer, commentator, whomever, I don't really remember. I do kind of remember the hairstyles, though. They were big. Such were the times.
But what I remember best was the buildup. The final moments, the countdown before it happened. The vanishing. I remember wondering, what would happen if it didn't? I mean it wouldn't, really. The Statue of Liberty. It's couldn't. It just...
I have a sense that I held my breath.
And then... it happened.
The Statue of Liberty, at least for the moment, was gone.
And life shifted. In that moment, it was like showing a kid behind the curtain by not showing him behind the curtain.
By showing him the impossible, David Copperfield successfully demonstrated just what might be possible.
And I remain as I was that day. Forever changed.