Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Coverly knocks out illusions for area students

By TOM STANKARD

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Ironwood - Tom Coverly, an international speaker and illusionist, spoke at Gogebic Community College Thursday to area middle and high school students about "destroying illusions" regarding young adult life.

To begin his illusion act, Coverly asked a member of the audience who likes to read to participate and selected Jordan Giannunzio, a Luther L. High School student.

Coverly and Giannunzio stood back-to-back. Coverly gave Giannunzio a copy of the book "Sherlock Holmes" and claimed to memorize "every single word" of it.

With his back to Giannunzio, Coverly pretended to be reading from his copy of the book, until Giannunzio found out. When Coverly showed Giannunzio his copy of the book, it was blank, but he recited paragraphs from the book he had memorized.

Through the illusion, Coverly said he wanted to show the audience how easy it is to be fooled in life.

"Not only do young people believe illusions, but you live your life as if illusions are real," he said.

Coverly performed one more illusion.

He picked out Lillian Tiziani, a Luther L. Wright High School student, and Matt Christoferson, a Hurley K-12 student. Coverly asked Christoferson to tear open a 12-pack of soda and he handed a can to Coverly. The illusionist asked Tiziani for a quarter.

On the count of three, Coverly re-enacted magician Criss Angel's trick by putting the quarter inside the unopened pop can. Tiziani poured the can into a glass and shook the can, making a jingling sound. Christoferson broke the can and out came the quarter.

Coverly said creating illusions isn't his greatest passion in life, because "they aren't real." His greatest passion is sharing a hopeful and positive message that will "change people's lives forever."

An illusion teenage girls may believe is they're "not pretty enough" unless they look like celebrities in magazines. "Society has told you this is what perfection is," he said. "No wonder young ladies are dealing with eating disorders, cutting themselves and wanting to end their lives."

The truth and reality is, Coverly said, "nobody looks like this," referring to a celebrity on the cover of a popular magazine.

"You are beautiful and pretty the way you are," he said.

Coverly asked young men in the audience if they heard it's OK to disrespect girls.

Coverly said young men are watching television shows telling them it's "no big deal" to treat women disrespectfully.

Real men, Coverly said, don't find disrespecting women funny. He said young men have to realize the damage it is doing to their generation.

Coverly challenged young men in the audience to open doors for women whenever possible as a sign of respect.

"Girls, you deserve someone who's going to treat you with respect," he said.

Coverly said many young adults believe it's OK to disrespect mom and dad. Real men and women, he said, know how to treat their parents with respect.

Coverly said he knew a 16-year-old boy who told his mom, "I hate you" after arguing with her before she left to pick up his siblings.

That evening, Coverly said, the young man's mom got in a car accident and died. Coverly said he will never forget attending the funeral.

"There were hundreds of students there to support their friend who lost his mom," he said, crying. "I watched the young man walk up to the casket, hug his mom and scream, ''I love you, mom. I'm so sorry.'"

Coverly said the young man has to live the rest of his life knowing the last words to his mom were, "I hate you."

The truth and reality, Coverly said, is parents make a lot of mistakes and are not perfect. He said young adults are not perfect, either.

"This is their first time being a parent to teenagers," he said. "Just like this is the first time you've been a teenager. Cut them some slack."

Coverly said nobody in the audience had a right to look at another person and not forgive them.

"We all can relate to being hurt," he said.

Coverly challenged the audience to apologize to someone they'd hurt and haven't said "sorry" for yet.

To close his "destroying illusions" presentation, Coverly told the audience to invite someone sitting alone during lunch to join them.

"I know there is not one of you who would want to be the person sitting alone at the cafeteria table," he said, passionately. "It's the worst feeling in the entire world. All you're hoping for is that someone will come by and invite you to go eat lunch at their table or say a kind word."

Real men and real women, Coverly said, know how to treat people with respect and he challenged the students to be respectful to their classmates.

Pastor Todd Winkler invited students to talk to representatives of local organizations, including Community Mental Health, Domestic Violence Escape and local law enforcement.

Coverly presented to middle school students earlier and presented to the community at Hurley K-12 in the evening.