It’s ALIVE!

Welcome to Making Mirth!

I’ve spent the last two days getting lots of images ready for this site, and thinking about all the many things that I’d like to blog about. And of course, lots of decisions to be made before even beginning to capture a single real iota of content - things like where to host, what to blog, who cares anyway, etc ad nauseum.

So, I guess I should start by explaining what’s going on here, and what you should expect. In some ways it begins way back when I was a child, living on Edgewood Street. Now, I know the story that you’re expecting to hear is the one about how the principal of the Edgewood Elementary School had to call my mom repeatedly due to my disruptive naked antics on a rope swing in our backyard (don’t worry, that one will come later). But that’s not where Universal Mirth & Magic begins. It was the startling discovery at the county fair that planted the seed from which all of this has sprung.

Mr. Porter, a friend of the family that I knew from church, was there. He was dressed in dressed in Gay 90s attire, standing in a booth in front of his player piano. I had never seen anything so wonderful! I stood mesmerized as the piano merrily banged out a chorus of Winchester Cathedral. The keys danced mechanically to the complex pattern of holes in the paper roll which kept its steadfast pace at eye level. Fascination overtook me again at the completion of the song as the march of the perforated paper roll abruptly reversed, and the roll quickly rewound itself back onto the original spool with a flap! flap! flap! as it finished.

This magic, this incredible wonder of modern science, continued through the night, with roll after roll bringing the mirthful sounds of the past to life once again. Being witness to something so fantastic as this planted a seed that would grow throughout the rest my life. As I studied engineering, then later entered the workforce, my mind would return to that nite long ago, again and again, until I was finally able to bring the magic within my own grasp.

And now it’s my distinct pleasure to share that mirth and magic with others by creating Universal Mirth & Magic. I keep my eyes open, looking to bring to you those things unusual, odd or ingenious. I sincerely hope the magic brings a little mirth into your life as well.

Let’s get started!

Mirth Maker