“Hello” was the response on the other end of my newly initiated phone call.

I knew this voice instantly, from the hundreds of times I’ve heard it on television, podcasts, and YouTube videos. I was shocked that it could be he who answered the phone and believed I might be wrong. “Yes, um, we are vacationing in the area and wanted to visit the Foundation.  Is tomorrow ok?”

The strong but comfortably aged voice, with a hint of Canadian accent replied “Yes, tomorrow will be fine.”

I then was convinced I was right and ventured, “This sounds like Mr. Randi.”

“Probably because it is” he said.

“I am just surprised you’re there” was my feeble reply.

“Well I had to be somewhere.”

I felt him smiling at me.

My impression is that this is Randi in a nutshell. Like that phone call from a complete stranger, he is at once self assured, reassuring, strong, wizened, comforting, bold, and honest. So multi-faceted but then so simple in his approach to everything, which is direct honesty. This is a characteristic of magicians and why they seem to be so confoundedly different from the rest of us. I would never conceive of being honest while trying to deceive people. This of course is the defining difference between say a magician and a psychic, the archetypical examples being James “The Amazing” Randi and Yuri Gellar.  Magicians say, “I am about to trick you.” Psychics don’t tell you.

We arrived at the small Mediterranean style building, which looked to be converted from a house into a business office. Sean, a James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) employee met us at the door and welcomed us in. He led us into the Isaac Asimov Library, showed us some of the interesting artifacts, about 2,000 books (including strange and stupid tomes of the Church of Scientology), and shared personal stories about his time at the JREF. He then excused himself to “tell Mr. Randi he had guests.” I figured Randi would come in quickly, exchange pleasantries and be off on some of the many projects he seems to always be leading. I was wrong, we were generously graced with an audience for the next 3 ½ hours by the “Amazing One” himself.

We were guided and educated through the wonderful world of skepticism, including an explanation and expose of an original Scientology E-meter. The device looked like a cigar box with important looking controls and a needle that supposedly measures resistance. Inputs on the side of the box allowed connected wires which instead of plugging into the handles were simply knotted and slipped through holes cut into the tops of the handles, originally empty, painted tomato cans. We were regaled with tales of Randi’s past victories over Geller, Kreskin and Popoff. We were a captivated audience as we learned about the origins of the JREF, its original benefactor, and James Randi’s second career, as well as anecdotes about his famous friends. With open elation he told us of his tour with Alice Cooper, his admiration for Martin Gardner, and his friendship with and mutual respect of Johnny Carson. We were informed of projects like TAM7 (The Amazing Meeting) and the new TAM UK in the works with the likes of Penn & Teller, Richard Saunders, Ben Goldacre, Phil Plait and the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe crew among other notables.

We finished this extraordinary visit with the performance of a “minor miracle” – an incredible magic trick Randi said would amaze us, and we still are. I came away from my afternoon at the JREF with a renewed sense of wonderment, a higher level of admiration, and the feeling that the skeptical movement is being steered by very wise and still capable hands. Randi’s humor, intellect and generosity are unparalleled.

I encourage you to make the trip to Ft. Lauderdale to visit the JREF for yourself. Randi invites all to attend the open skeptics meeting held there the last Wednesday of every month. Immediately after reading this post, leave a comment, check out and support the JREF, and get to TAM as soon as you can.

Related Posts:

1. The Skeptrack Experience at DragonCon – Part 1
2. The Skeptrack Experience at DragonCon – Part 2
3. Education is Not Just for Kids

Tags | critical thinking, skepticism