Midwest Mary

The past week has been an emotional mix of sorrow and nostalgia. Three friends passed away and another close friend came into town.

One of the friends who died suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for the last 11 years. Another was the 37-year-old son of a friend who was tormented by the debilitating disease, Huntington’s.

The last was my beloved pastor who passed away suddenly at the age of 39. Father Bakkelund was a humorous, charismatic spiritual advisor and scripture scholar. He was my source for theological verification when writing religious topics. More than 100 priests and seminarians, the town’s police force (Father was their chaplain), and about 1,000 friends, family, and parishioners attended the Rite of Christian burial held for him yesterday.

In addition, a special magician friend, Terry Evanswood, came into town to perform a series of five magic shows. It was Terry’s mother, Helen, who passed away from Alzheimer’s just as he was arriving home. Terry is an outstanding magician and tapped into his decades of experience and professionalism to give his audiences at each show his very best in the midst of the sorrow of losing his sweet mother. (Terry currently performs at the Grand Majestic Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN.)

You may remember that my husband, Marshall Brodien, was a magician. I met Marshall through Terry. Around 1993 I wrote a feature article about Terry for the Chicago Tribune newspaper (“Magic Man”), and Terry gave me Marshall’s name to interview as a reference. A year later, I wrote a feature article on Marshall (“Vanishing Act,” Chicago Tribune). Marshall and I began dating after the story was published.

When Marshall retired from stage magic, he passed on his blade box to Terry. Terry brought this box to town for his recent series of shows. Ironically, his assistant had to leave town before the last one, so Terry asked if I would help him with the illusion.

The blade box is a rectangular box about five and a half feet long.

The assistant lays in the box, it’s closed, and then the magician inserts blades through the box from end to end. When the blades are removed the assistant is found in her original position.

This box was significant for both Marshall and me. Marshall performed this illusion hundreds of times during his career. It was the first illusion he performed as a teenager and the last one he did while suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

It was my first illusion on stage, as well. Back in the ‘90s when I wrote the feature article on Terry, he invited me and my children to see his show. He also asked me to do the blade box illusion with him. Not only was this the first illusion I performed, it was the first full magic show I ever saw.

Then when I met Marshall, I began assisting him with this trick in addition to others. I’ve lost count of the number of times I was in that illusion.

As I lay in the box last Tuesday evening, my head spun with memories of performing with Marshall. I could hear Marshall’s banter and see him there, elegantly dressed in a tux. I was reminded of all of our magic friends, events, and the laughs we shared. Those magical years were one of the unexpected periods in our lives that we never anticipated. It simply was a gift.

*Photos by Stephanie Maurie
**Please “like” and comment on posts. I would love to hear from you.
***You can see all of my books on my website.

©2024, Mary K. Doyle