Words of Wisdom: Magic & Mystery

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walt-pickut Contributing Editor
Contributing Editor

Magic waits behind every castle gate!

Whether it’s the Magic Kingdom in Disney World or King Arthur’s mythical castle in medieval England, you are sure to find magic all around. It’s right there behind every castle gate!

But since we have no great castles in our part of the world, must we settle for no magic? Not if we believe the old saying “Every man’s home is his castle.” We just use doors today instead of castle gates.

Doors are actually magic things. My favorite comedian, the weird and whacky Emo Philips, described one of his first experiences with the magic behind his cellar door.

“When I was a kid,” Emo said, “my parents used to tell me, “Emo, don’t go near the cellar door!” One day when they were away, I went up to the cellar door. And I pushed it and walked through and saw strange, wonderful things, things I had never seen before, like… trees, grass, flowers, the sun…”
That day Emo discovered the magic about doors. A door is an exit from one place and an entrance to another. When you leave your home every day, you enter a land where you never know what will happen next.

And I’ll bet there are some doors you’ve seen a thousand times but never opened. Just imagine what you might be missing! Turkish writer Mehmet Murat Ildan once said, “If you feel you have to open a particular door, open it, otherwise all your life that door will haunt your mind!”

That’s why this week, your Jamestown Gazette invites all of our readers to open some of the most amazing doors you will find all across the Greater Jamestown Region. Check out this year’s edition of the annual Doors Open Jamestown. There’s real magic waiting for you behind every Open Door on Saturday, January 18, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Our cover for this edition, by Ann Marie Gariepy, our newest contributing writer, invites you to “Read all about it! Doors Open Jamestown.”

Local merchants, famous attractions, and some of our most remarkable community organizations have prepared a feast of amazements, gifts, and fascinating sights that will delight you with magic you never knew was waiting just inside their doors.

Doors Open Jamestown is not only about discovering more of the community we live in. It is also about the fun and rewards of becoming a part of that community. Step through the Open Doors to find new friends, new interests and activities that our community has to offer.

Psychologist Geri Weitzman said it very simply. “Sometimes you have to create what you want to be part of.”

So, please accept our invitation, step through our community’s Open Doors on Saturday and enjoy the magic. Enjoy helping to build the community we’re all a part of.

And of course, enjoy the read.

Walt Pickut

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Walt Pickut’s writing career began with publishing medical research in1971 while working at the Jersey City Medical Center and the NYU Hospital and School of Medicine. Walt holds board registries in respiratory care and sleep technology as well as bachelor's degrees in biology and communication, and a master's degrees in physiology from Fairleigh-Dickinson University in New Jersey, with additional graduate work in mass communication completed at SUNY Amherst. He currently teaches Presentational Speaking in the Houghton College PACE program at JCC and holds memberships in the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He lives in Jamestown with his wife Nancy, an MSW social worker, and has three children: Dr. Cait Lamberton in Pittsburgh, Bill Pickut, a marketing executive in Chicago, and Rev. Matt Pickut in Plymouth, IN.