Milk of Human Kindness

By Mark Winter

Mark was nice enough to share another routine using our Mother of All Diamonds Aqua Change Vase.

You’ll Need:
The Mother of All Diamonds trick available from www.BarryMitchellProducts.com

Foo can (a utility item available from most magic dealers. The foo can resembles a miniature pitcher with a hidden well on the inside to catch liquids, making the can appear empty. When you tip the foo can from the other side, liquid “magically” pours out)

Super Oom, also known as Miracle Milk available from www.BarryMitchellProducts.com

White flutterfetti, available from www.flutterfetti.com

Preparation:
Load flutterfetti into the bottom of the goblet that comes with the Mother of All Diamonds and place gimmick over top. Mix oom with water and pour into foo can. Place tube from Mother of All Diamonds to the side.

Patter:
Once upon a time, there was a man who felt empty inside. (Show empty goblet) The reason he felt this way is because everywhere he looked, he saw people being mean and cruel to each other. He believed that the milk of human kindness had dried up (tip foo can over goblet so that no milk comes out)…so the man went on a search to see if he could find the milk of human kindness.

First he went to the wise man of the meadow and said, “Oh, wise man of the meadow, I am on the search for the milk of human kindness because everywhere I look, it has dried up. People are being mean and cruel to each other. Please, can you tell me where to find the milk of human kindness?” The wise man of the meadow thought about that for a moment. He blinked his wise grey eyes and stroked his long, grey, wise beard and in a very wise voice said (in a goofy voice): “Yes, I believe that you can find the milk of human kindness in the dairy section at 7-11!”

Well, that didn’t sound right to the man. So he went to the wise man of the hill and said, “Oh, wise man of the hill, I am on the search for the milk of human kindness because everywhere I look, it has dried up. People are being mean and cruel to each other.  (Tip foo can) Please, can you tell me where to find the milk of human kindness?” The wise man of the hill thought about that for a moment. He blinked his wise grey eyes and stroked his long, grey, wise beard and in a very wise voice said (in another goofy voice): “Yes, I believe that you can find the milk of human kindness in Blue Bunny Ice Cream!”

Well, that didn’t sound right to the man either, so he decided to visit the wise man of the mountain. It was a treacherous climb with jagged rocks and cold, windy peaks, but finally he made it to the top. The wise man of the mountain was sitting in front of his home, which was a cave. The man said, “Oh, wise man of the mountain! Please, PLEASE, help me! I am desperately searching for the milk of human kindness but can’t find it anywhere. It has dried up. People are being mean and cruel to each other. (Tip foo can and casually place it to the other side of the goblet so you can be prepared to pour out the milk). Can you tell me where to find it?”
The wise man of the mountain did not say a word. Seeing that the man was hungry from his long climb, he shared his bread with him. Seeing that he was shivering from the cold, he took off his cloak and draped it over the man’s shoulders. The man’s hands were torn and bleeding from the long climb, so the wise man applied soothing ointment and wrapped bandages around them. In other words, the wise man of the mountain didn’t just talk about the milk of human kindness; he actually poured kindness into the man’s empty life. (Do a magic wave of the hands and pour milk from foo can into goblet)

The man finally understood! His life would no longer be empty. (Pick up the tube from the Mother of All Diamonds and show it empty) He went back down the mountain (make descending motions with the can and slip it over the goblet to clip the gimmick) and began pouring the milk of kindness into others. He did this by doing kind deeds and good works. (Remove the can along with the goblet shell that contains the fake milk). Oh, the man was finding out that it was FUN to help others! You could even say that the man did so many kind deeds that he not only poured out the milk of human kindness, he SHOWERED it on others! (Flick the goblet upward, ejecting the flutterfetti) Wow, that’s what I call condensed milk!

The moral of the story is this: the milk of human kindness is in each one of us—we just need to pour it out by doing good deeds and showering others with kindness!

WOW, wasn’t that a great story.  Thanks Mark for sharing it with our readers.
Barry Mitchell

Christmas at the Mitchells aka Pumpkin Stew

Twas the morning of Christmas, and all through the house,
The alarm was screaming, cause the power was out.

I jumped from my bed, to see what’s up with that.
I naturally assumed, it was a terrorist attack.

It was five a.m.; I couldn’t see a single sight.
The only sign of life, was my tiny cell phone light.

I used it to check, my gifts under the tree.
Naturally my first thought, was all about me.

I ripped off the paper, with all my might.
It didn’t occur to me, to use a flashlight.

It was so dark, I was only wasting my time.
I went back to bed, to the sound of my chimes.

Back up at eight, to make sweet potato souffle.
I offered to make it, the sugar free way.

My idea to replace eggs, with pumpkin in a can.
Turned out to be, not such a smart plan.

Canned pumpkin has sugar, and my eggs are out of date.
But I’d opened the pumpkin can, so now it’s too late.

I used the old eggs, and mixed the potato paste
But I’ll use that pumpkin too, it won’t go to waste.

With a baking dish was too big, over twice the size.
The mixture was thin, with much room to rise.

The topping looked wrong, is all I can say,
But that’s alright, it only covered halfway.

With the dish in the oven, I was finally home free.
Then the power went off,  You must be kidding me!

I grabbed the pumpkin, and started a new mix.
With no evaporated milk, coffee creamer was my fix.

A couple old eggs, were mixed in the brew.
Without a pie crust, I’ll call it pumpkin stew.

The pumpkin was too much, required more than one pan.
Maybe I should have simply thrown out the whole can.

Two more pans full, won’t fit in the oven now.
But I can make it work, some way, some how.

I cocked one gently, on it’s side for the bake.
I’ll finish this job now, for goodness sake.

The power returned, just in the nick of time.
There’s just one more line, to my Christmas rhyme.

I’m off to my family, with dishes in tow.
I’ll keep the egg history, on the down low.

Making A Christmas Tree

By Barry Mitchell

Main Point: A Christmas tree is simply an arrow to God

Object Effect: Making a Newspaper Tree

Presentation:
(Paper is rolled and prepared in advance.  An extra sheet of paper is wrapped around the outside so it’s not visible that the paper has been cut in advance.)

When I was a child, he lived alone in a rundown shack.  But he was the richest man I’ve ever known and that’s a fact.

I visited him often when I was young.  Although he was poor in stuff like most people have, he was rich in wisdom.  I never left his home without learning a little something or at least feeling better about myself.

The holiday season was my favorite time to visit.  People would bring him food baskets and gifts because he was so poor.  It was one of the few times each year that he had a bounty of food in his home.  But he would always share - no matter how little he had.

I remember one Christmas, it was as if he was just waiting for me to ask about his Christmas tree.  He usually had a little tree that someone would give him out of their woods.  But this year, he had a rolled up piece of newspaper in the tree stand.  It didn’t take long for me to ask him about his tree.  He said, “I have a beautiful one right there,” as he pointed to the paper roll.  “It has good news and bad news and the funnies too,” he said.

I said, “That’s not a Christmas tree; it’s just old newspapers rolled up.”  He smiled, because he knew I was going to say that.  He said, “Son, this newspaper tree has everything and does everything that the finest tree in the President’s White House does.”  I said, “Well it doesn’t have any lights.”  He said, “There is a story in those pages of a little girl who found her lost dog because of the help of her neighbors.  That story lights my heart.”

I said, “Well, it doesn’t have any pretty ornaments.”   He said, “Pretty ornaments are just colorful balls.  When I read the colorful jokes in the funnies I have a ball.”

I said, “Well, what about the garland and all the decorations?”  He said, “There are advertisements on every page with pictures of people decorated in the finest apparel money can buy.”

I said, “But what about the star at the top of the tree?”  He said, “The star at the top of the tree is just a reminder of the true meaning of the tree.”  I said, “What’s that?”  He said in his gentle voice, “All Christmas trees serve the same purpose.  It doesn’t matter if they are short or tall, decorated beautifully, or not at all.  They can be homemade or designer priced.  But they all do one thing, they point to the Christ.”  Then with a twinkle in his eye he reached into the paper tube and made the biggest paper Christmas tree I had ever seen.  (Pull paper tree up.)

I’ll never forget that wise old man and I hope you’ll never forget that a Christmas tree is only special because it points to the Christ.

Making a Paper Tree
A paper tree is very easy to make.  There are several tools that some add to make it a little more efficient, however, they are not really needed.

Cut six sheets of newspaper.  This is accomplished efficiently by cutting the folded edge of several folded newspaper sheets about one-half inch from the folded edge.  After the cut, all will be single sheets.

Rolling the single newspaper pages into a tube is the next step.  A cardboard tube from a paper towel roll may be used as a rolling guide; however, it’s not really necessary.  Tape the sheets of paper together lengthwise as you roll them around the cardboard tube or eliminate the tape by simply overlapping the pages about six inches as you roll the pages.

If using the cardboard tube, remove it and tape the roll of paper together.  Now you are ready to cut the paper to make the tree.  Cut down the newspaper tube about half way.  Make three cuts which make four equal sections.

Bend back each section of paper strips so that you can see the inside of the roll.  Hold the base of the tube with one hand while reaching into the center of the roll with the fingers of the other hand.  Pull up the newspaper inside the tube to start the tree growing.  Keep pulling to make the tree grow taller and taller.

A Little More Magic
To produce the tree without cutting the sections in front of the audience simply cut them in advance and hide the cuts by rolling another sheet of newspaper around the outside.  At the point of production, simply tear the outer paper away and pull up the tree or pull it directly from the center without tearing away the page.