He's doing a sleight-of-hand card trick in which he shows the card in the palm of his hand, wipes the other hand across it, and the card disappears. He does some version of that several times in succession, and with each move, more people gather around him. "Oh, I gotta see this," says one woman, stopping in her tracks.
Joseph Smith, 56, started his act on the Boardwalk five years ago, mixing magic tricks with comedy bits, like banter with a monkey puppet. The Baltimore native now makes his home in Salisbury.
On a good day, he can bring home $300 in tips, "but that doesn't happen all the time."
"I know I'm not going to get rich doing this out here. It's not going to happen," Smith says. "But I've gotten many parties this year. In the offseason, I might do as many as 15, 20 parties, after September, when everything slows down. I make a little money, but it's also about this, too, promoting myself."
He's been a practicing magician for 35 years. He first took up the craft at age 14, feasting on card trick primers at the public library.
"And it's still the easiest and most inexpensive way to get started," he says. "It doesn't cost you a dime. You don't even have to borrow the book, you can sit at a desk and read it. That's what I tell the kids, because I get that a lot."
The Amazing Josini comes to the Boardwalk now five days a week. He loves the camaraderie and the interaction with other buskers, but really loves the immediate reaction he can get from a crowd. The high-fives. The shouts of "oh man, you good!" Smith says sometimes that's better than getting a tip.
"Because what they're telling you is: 'I was really, thoroughly entertained.' And that's the ultimate goal for any performer, is to know your audience was not just amused. It's one thing to amuse, but to actually entertain them," – he pounds his chest with a closed fist – "that gets me right here, buddy. Because that's what I'm going for."
From the DelmarvaNow.com series "Characters of the Ocean City Boardwalk."
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