THE SEVENTH STRATEGY: GRAB THE DIALOGUE

—Whoever plays offense first wins.

 —Bill Clinton

Scene: This really happened. Like most sons, Harry Blackstone, Jr. imagines following in his father’s footsteps. Three decades before, the father, Harry Blackstone, Sr., made a borrowed handkerchief dance impossibly and mischievously alongside his audience’s imagination. 

Now, it’s 1987. The son enters the stage to reach for a lightbulb in a lamp held by his lovely wife. It’s hot. He waits, cooling, and now almost magically removes the still-lite bulb and admits: 

“Of course, it’s impossible … that’s why we do it.” 

Read more