My old high school pal, Bernie Shine, has been practicing magic since he was a little kid. I remember him working birthday parties and other events for money when the rest of us were doing things like bagging groceries or baling hay for money. Let's face it, he was an anomaly. His family of four represented the only Jewish people living in Spencer, Iowa at the time and when he left for college in Arizona his exit represented a 25% loss for the chosen people. Bernie tries to embellish this by claiming a parade was held in celebration. This is apocryphal, but damn funny. He's a funny guy.
Bern put himself through USC law school, after graduating from Arizona State, by working at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles. He was a magician performing in an establishment exclusively by and for professional magicians. As mentioned, the guy is good.
After several successful years as an attorney and entrepreneur--he recently sold his Shine Gallery memorabilia emporium--he is now semi-retired and living the good life in one of L.A.'s tonier zip codes. Naturally he still dabbles in magic and is constantly working on new feats of amazement. We saw a phenomenal new card trick he has developed when we visited him last week.
The Great Bernardo lately has a new lady in his life. Maggie, a dog he claims not to own, is the smartest canine in at least six counties. She OWNS Bernie and just about every other human she meets. Maggie, now hanging with Bernie pretty much full time, has even developed a penchant for magic. Check her out on these two You Tube videos.
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