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Abstract

When I was about eight years old, I was convinced that my father could perform amazing feats. He had the ability to make toys I lost around the house reappear, almost on demand. Once, I lost my favorite Matchbox car: jet-black Camaro, rear spoiler, yellow and green flames racing up the hood. I searched around my room and the house, but to no avail. The car was gone. My father found me moping around the kitchen, asked me what was wrong, and I told him about the car. He said he was sorry. Next time we were at the store, he would get me another. Later that day, I was in my room, sitting shiva for the car, when my father walked in, his left hand closed tightly. "Bryan, I want you to close your eyes, and think real hard about the car you lost. Remember exactly what it looked like," he said. I thought about how much I wanted that car back. "Now, open up." The car I missed, the dream car of my youth, lay in his hand. I smiled and asked where it came from. He whispered in my ear: "Magic." Now, as an adult, I know my father was a magician. Five years after his death, he's still capable of surprising me. I used to believe him to be a benevolent physician who gave free treatment to homeless patients. And while he certainly was that man, I have learned, through my research and conversations with family, that he was also a faulted human being who didn't take well to his numerous health problems, brutal divorce, or children who didn't understand him. While he no longer has the option to perform magic for me in person, he does in my mind--the ability to reinvent himself, to constantly surprise me with every new story I'm told.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2002

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Bartkevicius, Jocelyn

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

English

Degree Program

English

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic;Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences;Sandala, Bryan C

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0021745

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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