Grandpa's Magic Coin

My grandfather has done the same magic trick for every grandchild: he pulls a coin out of their ear. There are eleven grandchildren. He's done it thousands of times.

He has a special coin he uses, a 1964 silver half dollar, that he keeps in a little leather pouch. He says it's magic. We all believed him until we were about eight. Some of us still kind of do.

This year, my son turned four, and my grandfather did the trick for him for the first time. My son's eyes went huge. He touched his ear. He looked at the coin. He looked at my grandfather. "How did you DO that?" he whispered.

My grandfather winked and said, "Magic." Then he gave my son the coin. "Your turn now," he said. "When you're a grandpa." My son sleeps with it under his pillow.