Current location:	Hollywood, CA
Current mood:	grateful

Opening the Castle.
Tonight was my first night of my week run at Hollywood's World Famous Magic Castle.

It started with the help of my buddy Wayne White (who came to LA to visit his brother, Bob, and give me a hand) who assisted me in moving my gear into the Parlour. The set-up went quickly, and things just fell into place.



Just in case I couldn't go on...Wayne was ready as my understudy:



We moved stuff in around 3, then went to lunch and did a little site seeing. One place we visited was the Kodak Theater where, last night, the Oscars was televised.

Here's Wayne walking down the same steps all the guest walked less than 24 hours ago:



We made it back to The Castle around 6 so I could set-up for my 7:30 show.



By this time a lot of the staff were there, and I got to see familiar faces. Not the least of which was Kurt--an usher whom I grew very fond of during my last visit in May.



Upon seeing me, he immediately recognized my name and said, "Rusty...welcome home."

That was the kindest sentence I could possibly have heard.

Seconds later the legendary Max Maven



(Entertainment Director at The Magic Castle--my boss for the week) came in and addressed me my name as well, welcoming me back.

I feel SO important.

At 7:15 Kurt opened the doors for my theater, The Parlour of Prestidigitation, and I waited back-stage for the introduction:



At 7:30 Kurt introduced me, and I walked onto stage to my second run at The Magic Castle.

And....it DID feel like home.

My first audience was most generous, and that makes me happy.

My second show was cut do to low attendance (very common Monday through Wednesday), and the last show was perfect.

After my second show I bumped into an interesting man. Did you see the Oscars Sunday night?

If you did you must remember a film that won Best Feature Documentary, Man on Wire.

It tells the story of Philippe Petit, the man who, in 1974, walked at tight-rope across The World Trade Centers.

During the acceptance speech Philippe did a bit of magic, and balanced the Oscar on his chin.

If you missed it, here it is:



Well, one night after that win, Philippe was at The Magic Castle. He was nice enough to pose for this picture:



What a dude!

I'm sure I'll have more stories tomorrow...