Читать книгу Your Vote Is Magic! - Lyn Inc. Dillies - Страница 5

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

I started performing for birthday parties, scout groups, and nursing homes to gain experience. My first professional gig was doing a show for the Eastern Star, a Masonic group in New Bedford. My mother drove me there in her station wagon. She helped carry in my cardboard boxes loaded with props and set them up backstage. I had them all lined up on a long table. After presenting a trick, I’d run backstage and hand it to my mother, as she gave me the next trick. I’d exclaim, “They really liked that one! Did you hear them clap?”

Before every show, I’d be a nervous wreck—but afterwards I felt like I had conquered the world. All these years later, I still feel the same way before and after every show. I just knew in my early teens that I was destined to do magic. I lived and breathed it.

In my sophomore year, Scholastic Magazine did a story on me. They sent a reporter and photographer from New York City to interview me one day, and the next day they covered me doing a show on Cape Cod. I ended up being in a filmstrip and magazine that Scholastic produced featuring children pursuing unusual hobbies. A segment was televised on CBS National News. My parents were getting calls from family and friends around the county. It was a pretty neat thing back then. The reporter from Scholastic, Jane Startz, has become a highly acclaimed executive producer of award-winning family films.

In my junior year of high school, I remember meeting my guidance counselor, Mr. Melli, to discuss my future career plans. Without batting an eye, I told Mr. Melli that I was going to become a full-time professional illusionist. He looked at me as if I had three heads and advised me to have a serious backup plan. I am so grateful that I’ve never had to use a Plan B. Years later, I was so flattered when Mr. Melli called me to perform my show on Career Day for the school and talk to the students about following their dreams. A few years ago, I was deeply touched and honored to be asked to deliver the commencement speech at Westport High School, my Alma Mater. Talk about full circle.

Lyn, 14 years old, at one of her first performances.