ILLUSTRATION: Waiting, Delay A magician was on stage doing his act, when he called for a volunteer from the audience. A man volunteered and went up on stage. A 16 lb. sledgehammer was on stage next to a cement block. The magician told him to pick up the sledgehammer and break the block apart, so the audience would know the sledgehammer was real. So, the man swung the sledgehammer with all his might & shattered the cement block. The magician now told the man to hit him square in the face with the sledgehammer. Horrified, the man said, "No way. It'll probably kill you." The magician insisted that the man hit him in the face, saying, "I'll be fine. I promise you — go ahead." The man swung the sledgehammer at the magicians face. He struck the magician, knocking him flat on the ground. After 6 months in a coma in the hospital, the magician was lying in the hospital bed. One eye opened, the fingers flexed a bit, the other eye opened, and the magician sat straight up and said, "Ta-da!"