Do you believe in magic?
The song by The Lovin’ Spoonful—[singing]“Believe in the magic that can set you free”—I used to crank it up whenever it played on Radio Hauraki.
I do. With grace, goodwill, and a propitious text to a dear friend in the know, I arranged for a magician to perform for mi suegro, Don Miguel, who was gravely ill in the hospital. My father-in-law loves magic.
And who was “el mago”?
Brian Ochab.
Brian Ochab.
We say his name three times—
And the magic happens. Don Miguel’s grandson Chris had wanted to take him to The Magic Castle in Hollywood, California, but his health was too poor. So, on a Sunday afternoon at three, The Magic Castle—Brian Ochab—came to Don Miguel’s sixth-floor hospital room at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center on Sunset Boulevard.
Brian Ochab is a world-class magician. Look him up…earned the title of International Magic Champion…first place award at the International Brotherhood of Magicians’ Gold Cups Competition…People’s Choice Award from the Society of American Magicians.
Sweet as. Mate, I’m all rabbit ears. What happened?
What happens in a magician’s den/hospital room stays there.
I will say that the first hint of Brian’s wizardry was how the spatial dimensions of the room transcended. The hospital room was big enough for two guests; however, when Brian Ochab got there, it was standing room only for the seventeen magic enthusiasts present: Don Miguel, his esposa, his hijo, two hijas, yerno, six nietos, bisnieto, hermano and his hija, her esposo and their hijo. And mum’s the word on el médico and the nurses poking their heads from behind the curtain.
And ironically the greatest magic Brian Ochab performed wasn’t a trick at all.
Huh?
For one hour, Brian Ochab took our individual base-laden grief at Don Miguel’s condition and transmuted it into a golden moment in time. We all got to share in Don Miguel’s delight at seeing a world-class magician perform his craft at the tip of our noses. We all got to celebrate in Don Miguel’s life together.
Now that’s magic.
Magic.
Sing it with me:
“Believe in the magic that can set you free.”
∞
Epilogue:
On Monday, October 28, 2024, at 10:30 p.m., with a divine sleight of hand, el Mago Divino made Don Miguel disappear in his hospital room right before his loving familia and me.
