The Amazing Sheridan LeFanFanoo

The Amazing Sheridan LeFanFanoo

came to our village

with his astounding magic act

he would read minds lips give ski tips

hypnotize people to yodel

as they skied down the slopes

in an Alpine Adventure

in single word his accent

would schloss from Swiss to Austrian

his little moustache would dance

along with the yodellers

under his spell you would yodel

or cockle-doodle-do or hiss

whatever he wanted you to do

then he would whisper something

only those under his power could hear

over the following days

villagers would stop in their tracks

to yodel or cluck or hiss

I snuck backstage

to catch a glimpse of

the Amazing Sheridan LeFanFanoo

I peeked between the trunks

that held his tricks

I saw him slap his pretty assistant

he called her a lazy bitch

she nodded and left him in the dim backstage light

he patted his forehead with a small handkerchief

then began to change into his next outfit

while his assistant yodelled on stage

I glimpsed his naked body

sparse black hair on his chest thin legs

at that moment his eyes caught mine

“who’s there” he asked fearfully

I scampered off

for the next few weeks we kids played

at being the Amazing Sheridan LeFanFanoo

boys and girls

with little mascara moustaches

tried to hypnotize one another

talked about the Whistling Wood

as if it was some exotic ski location

and trying out French German accents

at choir practice I tried my yodel

no one was impressed

once

while my mother

whacked the clothes clean on the rocks

I called her a lazy bitch

she gave me a tired smile and hissed

“you sound just like your father”

This is another of my favourite Mythology pieces, honestly it seems all of them are favorites. It was great fun to write, edit and even more fun to read. The name Amazing etc tickles me to no end. It tells so much about the theatrical nature of this character. It is also a spin on Sheridan LeFanu. So LeFanFoo is claiming a bit of that Gothic aura.

vanished or raptured?

LeFanFoo is loosely based on a real person, Reveen– a hypnotist/magician who used to tour the Maritimes every couple of years – renting movie theatres or local halls for his act. In Sydney he always played to packed houses.

waiting to disappear

The Alpine skiing is also true – though not associated with Reveen – it was another roadshow attraction – a film with a live lecturer about skiing – the film featured a camera strapped to a skier to thrill the audience as it flew over a some breath-taking jumps.

Those true elements get mashed into my mythological word as my hero experiences a sort of loss of illusion about the illusionist when he sneaks behind the scenes. There is a sense of how young minds absorb without thinking what they see and hear, how the exotic percolates into wanting to be Sheridan.

left for good

A hint of youthful sexual awakening at the same time, plus abuse of power. The washing of clothes appears a few times in various pieces as I mix technologies and rural life to give the village an almost African sensibility. The ending pulls everything back into reality – we all end up sounding like one parent or the other and never realize it. keep still for Yoda’s sake