Lester Bildorp
Becomes An Orphan
by Zvi A.
Sesling
Lester Bildorp
was fascinated with magic. When he heard Gelfman
The Magician was going to perform at the New Town
Theatre he begged his parents to take him.
He begged and begged until they could not stand
the begging anymore and agreed to take him to see
Gelfman The Magician at the New Town Theatre. He
wanted to see rabbits pulled from a hat, a lady
sawed in half and handkerchiefs turned into doves
that flew around the theatre and return to the
magician’s hand turned back into a
handkerchief.
On that special day the family took a taxi to the
theatre, bought tickets for the third row and
settled in comfortably. Soon Gelfman The Magician
appeared on stage to applause and cheers. He
performed the requisite magic Lester expected: a
rabbit pulled from Gelman’s hat, a red
handkerchief turned into a dove and back to a
handkerchief and the beautiful blonde sawed in
half and put back together.
Then Gelfman The Magician announced, “Tonight,
for the first time anywhere, here in the New Town
Theatre I am going to perform magic that has
never been attempted anywhere.” The audience
oohed and ahhed with expectation. They shouted,
clapped and stomped their feet. “I will need
one or two volunteers.” The theatre went
silent. No one spoke up. Lester looked at
his parents and begged them to go up, “You
just have to, for me.”
Gelfman heard Lester and implored the Bildorp
parents to come onstage. He guaranteed them the
thrill of a lifetime and said their son would be
extra proud of them. Lester looked at them with
wide pleading eyes. His lips formed the
word please. So the Bildorps agreed and
alighted to the stage where Gelfman The Magician
stood with arms spread wide
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Gelfman
announced, “today you are about to see the
single most exciting act of magic ever performed
live on a stage before an audience of so many
people.“
With that he opened a large box on the stage and
motioned for the Bildorps to enter. He then
closed the box and he and his assistant placed a
large red sheet over it. He recited some
incantations learned in India. Then he took one
end of the red sheet while his assistant took the
other end and together they removed the sheet. Gelfman
opened the box and showed that it was empty.
“But where are my parents?” Lester
Bildorp asked.
“Well, I’m not sure,” Gelfman The
Magician said. “I said I’d make
them disappear but I never figured out how to
make them return. “
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