Crime Spells

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I’ve always been fascinated with the idea, apparently shared by so many people, that magic-if it does or could exist-would somehow make everything easier.

That you can get something for nothing.

You hear it in conversations all the time. After something happens that was easier than it should have been, someone will shrug and say, “Must have been magic.” Searching for the solution to a hard problem is described as “needing some magic.” And a windfall, a bonus, a lucky occurrence: “magical.”

I suppose the quick and easy answer for this is to blame some of the old fables. Aladdin and his magic lamp, for instance. On the surface, it sounds like such a great deal. Three wishes, no waiting. Don’t need a permit, no license, and the IRS doesn’t even have a check-off box for the value returned from the djinn. There is no downside. Right?

Ahh, but the fine print. That’s what everyone tends to forget when reminiscing about the “grand olde days,” when magic was real and talking fishes still granted wishes for the low, low price of being returned to the water. Even in the Disney animated flick, Aladdin’s wishes don’t bring him the happiness he thought he would receive. No sudden drop-off on Easy Street for him. In the end, he’s lucky enough just to break even.

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