CALL ME SNAKE

You never know what will turn up via email. Yesterday, for reasons unknown to me, my cousin from Nashville (NOT the rock-paper-scissors champ, but still a talented guy in his own right) forwarded a letter from the Amazing Randi (a magician and noted skeptic) who claimed an item being sold on eBay had been stolen from him. The item in question was a 1983 letter written by Doug Henning (a magician and performer who died in 2000), thanking Randi for his “support and respect at a difficult time in his [Henning's] life and career.” Henning told Randi that he was working on a new levitation act that would blow everyone away. Randi did not know how the letter, which he treasured “highly,” came into the possession of the seller, the Spencer Company based in “beautiful downtown Burbank” in California, but says it must have been taken sometime after 1995. He had no idea what had become of it until he saw the item listed on eBay.

Bidding on this piece of “magical memorabilia” was fierce, reaching $680 yesterday afternoon. However, a few hours later, the seller cancelled the listing, cutting off all bids. There’s no explanation for why the Spencer Company abruptly terminated the auction. My theory is that the Amazing Randi, taking a page from Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ playbook, put a spell on them. But it’s likely we’ll never know what happened. It’s equally likely that no one–save for Randi and a few of his associates–actually cares.