John Henry's World of Magic

06/01/2016

A good-by to all of you with whome I've had the opportunity to share a bit of magic over the last 25 years, I'll miss you.
My wife and I have relocated to Florida and although I'll be performing in a new place now I've brought with me all the wonderful memories you've given me over the years.
You made it possible for me to be blessed with an extraordinary and exciting career that was never a job but a vocation I looked forward to every day.

Magically yours,
John Henry

07/09/2015

FISM via the Dolomites 4
Wednesday afternoon, July 1, Irvina and I drove through the Val Perola Pass to Cortina, one of the most beautiful areas in the Dolomites and home to one of the world’s largest open air museums. Covering an area of almost 50 km the museum has restored and maintains the forts, tunnels and entrenchments of the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies. A memorial to those tragic events of the First World War.
It’s hard to believe that the Dolomites was once a large tropical sea but the proof is in the unique rock itself imbedded with sea coral and shells and it couldn’t have been more apparent than here.
Cortina was always a winter destination for the well to do, however, after hosting the 1956 Winter Olympics Cortina become a world class winter resort attracting jet setters, the rich and famous. Many movies have been filmed there including ‘The Pink Panther’, and the 1981 James Bond movie, ‘For Your Eyes Only’. In the winter, the population swells from about 5,500 to more than 40,000.
Our plan was to spend three days hiking in the Cortina area, however, the effects of a spider bite I sustained at some point was having an effect on me and by the time we arrived I was pretty beat. The next day we drove up to the hospital to see a doctor. A week of antibiotics and rest was the prescription so we ended up spending an extra day in Cortina. Although I slept most of the time Irvina considered it the most relaxing part of our vacation and the people at the Hotel Trieste, where we were staying, took great care of us. The accompanying photos were taken during our drive to Cortina, from our balcony and of the downtown area.
The car we had was a Fiat 500, four wheel drive, diesel, with a stick shift. I couldn’t see driving in the Alps in an automatic but that meant I was the only one who could drive the car so we decided that on Friday we’d drive to Verona, spend the night then drive to Rimini on Sunday as originally planned.
It had been sunny and in the 80’s all week but it was a bit hazy when we left Cortina. As we got lower and lower into the valleys the temperature rose into the 90’s and the haze persisted. We had A/C in the car but my weakness, the relentless mountain roads with their twists and turns and the long highways ahead with the 130k/hr (81mi/hr) kept me pretty focused. As a result I didn’t take any photos during this part of our trip.
We took the exit just past the city exit and found a hotel for 80 Euro. It turned out to be a four star hotel. It was fantastic, with unlimited amenities and a terrific restaurant. It’s the Hotel Villa Malaspina and if you’re ever in the Verona area you might want to consider staying there.
Sunday morning I was starting to feel normal as we drove off for Rimini.

07/01/2015

FISM via the Dolomites 3
Monday afternoon we arrived in Val Gardena, a beautiful valley in the heart of the Dolomites with spectacular views of the mountains. We drove through the small towns of Ortisei and S. Cristina to Selva Wolkenstein where we splurged a bit and booked two nights at the Gran Baita Hotel with great views from our room.
Tuesday morning we took a lift to the summit of Mont Ciampinoi then hiked the 5 or 6 miles to Passo Sella and up to Rif. Toni Hemetz at 2685m (8,809’), a pass between two peaks. You can just make out the hut at the top of the pass on the right in the photo. It was going to take us a couple of hours to hike down to our hotel so we decided to take a bus instead. It was already 5 o’clock and the bus was filled with people of all ages carrying their trekking poles and backpacks. There were a lot of tired faces on that bus, it was a quiet ride back to town.
It was a beautiful day but very warm- in the 80’s until we got up where there was snow.

07/01/2015

FISM via the Dolomites 2
Friday we drove up the east coast of Lake Como then east through Sondrio and north to Bormio, famous for their hot springs. It was 4 o’clock when we arrived in Bormio so we decided to drive the extra hour to Lavigno, a tax free town near the Swiss border and popular ski and hiking area with lots of small shops, restaurants, guest houses and small hotels. We spent the night at a very nice European style hotel; Garni Al Plan. The rate was only $100 and included breakfast.
In late morning the main pedestrian way was filled with tourists shopping for bargains at the tax free shops and the ski lifts were taking hikers up into the mountains. We were looking for ice which we never found any.
We had originally planned to bring a foldable cooler but it took up too much room in our luggage so we decided to pick up a disposable cooler in Italy and replenish it with ice along the way. We stopped at a number of stores along the way but the best we could do was an insulated bag about 20”X20” so that’s what we used, however finding ice was a real challenge.
At 12:30 we left for our long drive to Merano/Meran and on to Bolzano/Bozen, the capitol of South Tyrol, the Italian terminus of the Brenner Pass (check it out on line) and a the major entranceway to the Dolomites. All of the names of towns and places in the Tirol area are expressed in both German and Italian. Italy annexed the area after WW I.
The roads were windy with lots of sharp turns and tunnels, tunnels and more tunnels. One tunnel was one way and 3 kilometers long and the speed limit is 80 to 90 kilometers an hour.
When we got to Bozen we drove right through the city looking for a hotel. I took a left turn thinking it would bring us back around into town but instead it was a steep and winding road that took us up into the mountains. There’s never any place to turn around on these roads so as Bozen drifted away in my rearview we hoped to find a hotel somewhere along the way.
We stopped at the first hotel we saw, the Unterinnerhof a family owned hotel in the Unterinn/Ritten area. It had a panoramic view of the Dolomites and the city of Bozen below. We decided to spend two days acclimating ourselves and planning what roads we would take to Rimini.
It turned out that the area we were in was famous for the ‘Earth Pyramids’ and close to a major ski and hiking area. On Sunday we drove further up into the mountains to Lengstein/Longostagno for a two mile hike to view the earth pyramids. After lunch at a local guest house we drove up another 5 miles to the ski lift. We took the lift to the summet (Ritten Horn at 2260 meters) and hiked back down the hour and a half to the car.
Last night we had dinner about 9 o’clock and did some magic for the staff and their children.
Today (Monday) we head out to Val Gardena, the heart of the Dolomites.

06/29/2015

04/10/2015

Hi from OMI on beautiful Cape Cod!

11/19/2014

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you”, that would suffice. - Meister Eckhart

This Thanksgiving there is much to be thankful for.

Thank You for your continued business and support throughout the years.
Wishing you Good Health, Joy, Prosperity and a Happy Thanksgiving.

If you find yourself in the Framingham area on December 13th, stop by and say hello. I’ll have my mobile magic shop set up and will be performing magic shows at 11, 1 and 3 o’clock.
framinghamauxpolice.org/framingham-auxiliary-police-craft-fair.html

27th Annual Framingham Auxiliary Police Craft Fair December 13th, 2014 Keefe Vocational Technical High School 750 Winter Street, Framingham, MA 10 am - 4 pm Admission $2.50, Children under 12 free...

11/18/2014

Had a great time at SAMCON this past week-end. Lots of magic and camaraderie. Learned a lot.

10/11/2014

Tomorrow, Sunday October 12 I'll be performing magic shows throughout the day at the Dorchester Irish Festival.

Want to learn magic? Stop by my booth and say hello. Between shows I'll be selling how to do magic books and really cool magic tricks. I'll teach you what you need to know to baffle and amaze your friends.

Click in the image below and see how much fun it will be. I'm listed under 'Special Events'.

09/09/2014

It was a great time at the Cape Cod Festival of Magic last week and it was nice to see so many of you there. I hope that those of you who didn't make it this year will be able to be there next year- it's really a wonderful family event and the proceeds support the important programs of the Cape Cod Boy Scouts of America. As an Eagle Scout and former scout leader I am pleased to be a part of this program. Below are photos of the wonderful kids who helped me during the show and a few of the scouts who volunteered their time work hard to help young boys achieve confidence and self reliance.

Also, mark your calendars for another great event! The Irish Heritage Festival will be held again this year in Dorchester on Sunday October 12 from 11 AM to 6PM. I'll be performing a magic show every hour on the hour starting at noon till 5 PM. I'll also be teaching magic tricks, have magic for sale.