For me the most depressing thing is that we will never have another person with his kind of career because we live in different times. Oh sure, there are a handful of knowledgeable magicians still alive but no one will ever have the arc he did. The lack of venues, respect for live performance, and the rise of the internet are a few of the reasons for this.
The generation after Johnny who looked up to him have been dealt a hefty blow for sure. My generation has a little bit more to go before we lose someone of his magnitude that we watched growing up as kids. It makes me curious who the current generation will look up to and learn from down the line.
I know I have spoken quite harshly of the most recent crop of kids on the internet doing social media magic. It's not because I don't like them but more what they are doing (or not doing). I just want them to be better. None of us made good decisions in our youth. The difference is we didn't have a world stage to parade our bad decisions around on. I can't tell you how much I hope to see the likes of Julius Dean or Jibrizy wise up as they get older and become great. To rise above their mistakes and become iconic performers future generations look up to and learn from. Basically I just want to be wrong.
It could happen...
 |
| Don't do it for me. Do it for Johnny. |
