On this day a year ago Bob Cassidy died.
He was a big influence on my way of thinking in mentalism. And I still miss him.
Personally I only knew him from a few talks we had on skype. So definitely only in a very superficial way.
I guess he was quite a complex character. As all of us are. And has been pointed out many times in different threads on the Café.

But even though I didn't know him very well he still means a lot to me. And I sometimes wonder why that is. It might be because I really liked his way of writing. It was funny, artistic and very precise at the same time.
I also loved the fact that he was one of the last big names still posting on the Café very regulary. I think at least in his later years he really was a teacher at heart and enjoyed discussions with other mentalist as much as helping beginners with his ideas on the theory and practical aspects of mentalism. Of course he could be short tempered and a little bit of a diva from time to time. But who wouldn't?
Also during one of our skype sessions he said something to me that touched me very deeply and was one of the nicest things any teacher has ever said to me. I won't repeat it here because it wouldn't make sense to anyone else but me.

There was the idea of collecting his posts on the Café in some form. And I think that probably wouldn't be a practical thing to do.
They are here on the Café for curious people to find. And they probably won't go away for the foreseeable future.
But here are at least two of his posts for you. His first and his last.

His first is from February 4th, 2002. Bob intruducing himself to the Café:


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And this is his last post from January 19th, 2017. I think - from what I have read fom Bob over the years -this is a very appropriate last post for Bob:


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Thanks Bob!

Http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/searc......=9880589

This link should work ..all of his posts...

The main reason I liked Bob was that you could have a good laugh with him...my personal favourite on here was...

I always liked this one. Probably not his. But I heard it from him first:

Nope.

Still works on my phone..

I think the search id is specific in some way. Go to Advanced search enter as user mastermindreader and you are set.

Bob had a way of changing my thinking. At first, I disagreed on his Mentalism/Magic opinion. Then he wrote something to me. "There is no such thing as a CLOWN Mentalist!" No one takes a clown seriously. Unless their name is Pennywise! LOL! He explained that if I was known as a Magician, I would NOT be taken seriously as a Mentalist! It took years. I found he was right! About a lot of things. So many things...

Doug

Well, there is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM-3pjbMhzM

He was a purist in terms of his thinking about Mentalism, and full credit to him, he never did deviate from this view point. He seemed very saddened at the way Mnetalism was being 'cheapened' by Mr & Mrs Google. I remember one of his posts before he got sick, when he wrote something like - I am just glad I was around in the Golden age of Mentalism, and I'm also glad I won't be around to witness its decline. He was right about so many things about our art, I hope he is not right regarding the latter part of his comment.

I was part of his workshop for a while and he was always more than helpful with any question I may have had.

Of course he is missed, but any of us serious about Mentalism should make sure that we keep it alive AND mysterious. I am sure that is what Bob would want too.

Well I'll be a son of a...Now there ya go! I'm smilin'...

Doug

My favourite post on here is by far this one:

"Your welcome, Oliver. Enjoy your journey and remember that any path is the right path as long as it is a path with a heart.

Just don't take the wrong exit on the New Jersey Turnpike. That's how I ended up in Seattle."

I think that sums up his kind of humor pretty much :-D

There where other things he said in private that where more meaningful but this is definatly one of the funniest!

Jes