I’ve loved magic since I was a little kid — In fact, I still have some of the magic-show-in-a-box sets that my aunt Val gave me when I was growing up — and I always wanted to be a member at the Magic Castle, but I couldn’t, because I wasn’t a real magician. Recently, though, the Castle changed its rules, and started allowing a select number of non-magicians to join as associate members … and I was allowed to join! So now I can go and watch magic whenever I want, which is awesome.

Last Friday, Anne and I went on a double date with Chris Hardwick and his girlfriend, Lydia, to the Magic Castle. We had a nice dinner, and then we spent the evening watching magic shows, including a mind-blowing closeup show that we saw from the front row.

While we were sitting in one of the shows, laughing and gasping and marveling at the magician on the stage, I realized that the real power of magic, and the reason that I still love it now, at 42, as much as I loved it at 8 and 10 and even into my surly teens, is that when we get to watch a magician perform, we can feel the same sort of wonder and delight and joy that we felt the first time we saw magic when we were kids.

I think I’m going to dig out my books on sleight of hand (for you fellow magic enthusiasts out there, it may please you to know that I still have my original copies of Now You See It, Now You Don’t) and see if I can rediscover some of the skills I once had. Maybe I’ll take some classes at the Castle, too, when I have time.

Ah, time. If I were a real magician, I’d wave my magic wand and create more time for myself. That’s a trick worth learning.