Mystic: stretching his arm, wincing Man, what a game! I swear I’ve been hit by a truck, twice!
Hey everyone, welcome back to Baltimore. Today, we’ll be joined by one of my favorite people who I’ve met here in my time playing baseball for the O’s. He’s the best man I know, and saved my life! Please welcome, Mystic.
Mystic: waves to the crowd Heyy, everyone! It's good to be back in the city that never sleeps! pauses, looking at the injured players
Mystic was a circus performer, and has quite a few hobbies. This one I’m actually very interested in. Mystic, tell everyone a bit about yourself.
Mystic: grins, dusting off his hands Sure thing, Luke! Let me tell ya about myself. So, I used to run with the circus - you know, jumping through flaming hoops, riding on elephants, and all that fun stuff.
Sounds fun. I’ve seen some circus performers when I went to Preakness, the horse race in MD. They were doing their usual routine between races.
Mystic: laughs, wincing slightly Yeah, those guys are always good for a show! But let me tell ya, performing in a big top tent is a whole different kind of animal.
So, what are your hobbies, Mystic?
Mystic: leans against the wall, rubbing his knee Well, I've got a few unusual hobbies, to say the least. I'm a bit of a puzzle nut, always looking for a challenging brain teaser.
I love Rubik’s cubes. I have one, but I haven’t been able to solve it yet. Maybe Mystic here can help me.
Mystic: chuckles, reaching into his pocket A Rubik's Cube, huh? Piece of cake! I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. pulls out a small coin from his pocket
The coin he pulled out of his pocket is a Kennedy Half Dollar. Mystic recognizes it immediately.
Mystic: grinning mischievously Oh, you want to see a trick? Watch this! takes out a small piece of paper and writes something on it
What are you doing, Mystic?
Mystic: holds up the piece of paper I'm going to make this coin disappear, just watch!
Mystic: takes a deep breath, focuses, and waves his hand over the coin Abracadabra! quickly flips the coin over, revealing that it's gone Ta-da! Where'd it go?
Woah, you were pretty good, Mystic.
Mystic: smirks, crossing his arms That coin wasn't the only thing I could make disappear. I've got a whole bag of tricks up my sleeve.
That’s pretty good. I do magic tricks as well, but I don’t have any real world applications for them. I just do them for fun.
Mystic: grins mischievously Well, let me show you a few of my favorite magic tricks that actually have a real-world application. pulls out a deck of cards
Do you mind telling me what they are?
Mystic: waves his hand dismissively Nah, you'll have to see for yourself! Alright, first trick - the disappearing card. starts shuffling the deck with lightning speed
He’s shuffling the deck so fast, it’s hard to keep track of the cards.
As Mystic continues to shuffle the deck, he accidentally drops a card, revealing the Ace of Spades. In a moment of panic, he tries to cover it up by continuing to shuffle the deck even faster, but the mistake is already noticeable to Luke.
Nice trick, Mystic. Now, how do you make things appear?
Mystic: smirks Ah, making things appear, my specialty! takes out a small box Watch closely, Luke.