The Magic Rainbow: 10,000 Days of Undying Anticipation
By Jim Krenz - Thursday, February 21, 2019
Sometimes, life hurts.
In this case, the hurt has lasted for about 30 years.
Back in the eighties, I worked at Magic, Inc. Although I wore many hats there, on that fateful day, I was working the counter, demonstrating new effects to customers.
The door opened, and in walked Jay Marshall, suit bag in hand, having just returned from F.I.S.M. “I have two books that you should read….” He walked up to the counter, set down the bag and unzipped it. He reached in and came out with two little red books, which he placed on the counter in front of me. Then he walked back into store without further comment.
The two books were: The Five Points in Magic and The Magic Way—both by Juan Tamariz—some Spanish guy that I'd never heard of.
I lost the next several weeks of my life because of those books—or more precisely, because of the author. The words jumped off the pages, and the concepts infiltrated my thoughts. It was obvious that the author spoke from his heart—that he greatly cared about magic—that he loved, breathed, and dreamt magic, and he did it with an unparalleled passion.
He succeeded in inspiring me with his passion.
I ended up ordering my own copies from Ana, Juan’s daughter in Spain. When they arrived, I treasured those books, and the subsequent friendship that somehow occurred between the author and myself.
The three-decade long pain? The knowledge of a forthcoming third theory book—the arrival of which has tortured me with about ten thousand days of undying anticipation.
Every time I met with Juan, I would ask in a hushed tone, “the Rainbow?” The response would be, no, or some progress, or soon, soon! And so I would wait. Year after year, decade after decade. You can’t rush genius.
You, my dear reader, don’t have to wait. We are about to experience a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by wise reflection, mystical refraction and passionate dispersion of light.
The Magic Rainbow is here.
The Five Points and The Magic Way changed me. They made me think deeper about magic than I ever had. With the wisdom communicated by Juan’s enthusiasm, my magic evolved.
This trilogy of theories can, when studied seriously, be your path to earning a doctoral degree in magic.
Study them well—Juan’s words will help you, and your magic, thrive.
I’ve had the luxury of sitting across the table as Juan wrote parts of The Magic Rainbow. It is quite the experience to see him write. Complete serenity and focus are the best words to describe him in those moments. The medium didn’t matter—whether he wrote in little adjustable notebooks, or on looseleaf paper, on his MacBook, or even on his iPhone—you can feel the power pouring from his heart onto the page.
It has been said that finishing a book is one of the most challenging accomplishments a human being can undertake. With Juan’s success achieved, it is now up to us to let him move us, and our magic, to greater heights.
The next time we meet, let’s sit down and have a tertulia about the points, the way and the rainbow. I look forward to lively discussions with each and every one of you!
In closing, I want to share with you a treasured photo that I took as Juan was writing the very last words of The Rainbow. Moments after the photo, Juan looked up, smiled, and said, “Finished!”
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