RING 129. HEART OF AMERICA RING. Meets first Thursday of every month at Kick’s Comedy Theatre. 4010 Pennsylvania Ave, Kansas City, MO 64111 President: Kelly Rusk,
Ring 129 report for February 2026.
Mark Strivings braved a snowstorm to get to the KC area in time to present a scheduled lecture January 26. The lecture consisted of several routines that could be performed with items we have on hand—cards, dice, etc. One thing that I liked is a practice that used to be commonplace but is rare nowadays—all of the routines that he taught were included in a ten-dollar set of notes that he had for sale. He did have a number of other items for sale, but these he presented only after the lecture itself had concluded.
February, so far, has been exceptionally warm, in time for our scheduled activities. Cliff Norris led off our monthly meeting with a performance of a four-ace routine. David Sandy showed us some items from his stash of collectible magic items, including a pair of cabinets in which a large block was transported from one container to another. The creator of the illusion was Craig Beytien, who lives in central Missouri and was a guest at the meeting. Craig later showed us some other items he had crafted which were remarkable for their craftsmanship, the sort of things that any magicians would be proud to display in their living rooms.
Ring president Kelly Rusk then displayed several items of pulp fiction which showed magicians as detectives, followed by a discussion of why so many comic books, etc., made this connection between the two professions. Dennis Burks followed with a report on the status of a project he has been working on for several months—having a plaque placed in downtown Kansas City commemorating the time and place that Houdini first performed his upside-down straitjacket escape. He said the ceremony installing the plaque is now scheduled for September of this year.
For the next activity Kelly asked members to describe the worst magic item they had ever purchased. Jerry Jackson began by saying he had bought an item which he could not use because it involved piercing his skin—but Samuel Bricker then demonstrated that he could perform it. Stu Lewis described a set of instructions for a hold-em poker routine written by someone who did not understand the game it was based on. Keith Leff then spoke about a Tommy Wonder video which included a prop which was impossible to construct. Phil Franklin showed us an item called “Gilligan’s Prediction,” which involved manipulating a 52-card index. Tom Burgoon described several unworkable items that he had purchased over the years.
We then moved on to our “Show us the Magic” segment. Dennis Burks performed a book test using what appeared to be an old copy of Homer’s “Odyssey.” John Hicks performed his original variation on Marlo’s “Devilish Miracle.” Steve Steiner then performed a “compatibility test” using playing cards.
On February 7th we held our annual President’s banquet, at which past Ring and International president Roger Miller swore in our officers and board members for the new year, including Kelly Rusk, who will be serving his second term as Ring president. Before dinner, Brad Lynn worked as a strolling magician for those in attendance. Kelly Rusk then did a presentation on the history of our Ring, including a discussion of some of our notable now-deceased members: Clyde Glandon, Claude Enslow, Harry Otto, and Jay Vincent. Those of us who have been in the Ring long enough to remember them shared our memories of these illustrious entertainers.
==Stu Lewis, ring reporter