St. Patrick Presbyterian Church, Epc

Last summer, our youth group’s middle school trip was cancelled just days before departure, due to a Covid outbreak among the camp staff. An all-too-familiar occurrence in those days. But, having been by then thoroughly acclimated to “the art of the pivot,” we scrambled and put together a last-minute alternative trip to the Ozarks. Among the events we had planned was a jaunt to the historic downtown theatre to see “Hot Springs’ #1 Attraction: The Maxwell Blade Magic Show.” This zany performance turned out to be equal parts David Copperfield-esque illusions, so-bad-they’re-great “dad jokes,” and an extended selection of… Elton John impersonations? It was bizarre to say the least, but the kids absolutely loved it. I still have a lot of questions about that man’s personal life. The next day we had planned to go to Magic Springs Amusement Park as our grand finale, but alas, we received news of another Covid exposure and had to shut it down early. Everyone was devastated, of course. As we look back on the ill-fat