Today in Reno, a 10 year old's birthday party, plus a little magic brought a military family "far apart,” together again.
Drake Krainbrink celebrated his birthday Saturday with his family and friends at Impossibles Magic Shop and Theater in Reno. Mesmerized by the magician’s sleight of hand, Drake's unbelief was soon to be mixed with the unexpected. If only his dad, the one person who could not make it to his birthday party, could see the biggest magic trick of the day: the magician disappear.
As the drape was raised to cover magician, Justin Impossible, the crowd yelled, "Abracadabra!" That is when First Sargent Benjamin Krainbrink, Drake's dad, appeared on stage.
"I missed him a lot," said Drake after the performance.
First Sargent Benjamin Krainbrink of the Nevada National Guard has been serving in the Middle East for almost a year. He and his wife have been planning this surprise for Drake and his brother, Zach since December, but getting the timing just right isn't only difficult, it's out of their control.
“You're never 100% certain when you're going to get home,” said 1st Sgt. Krainbrink. “There was a minute or two where I was nervous I wasn't going to get back in time.”
Magician Justin Impossible gets a lot of birthday requests. He knew this one would be one of his favorites.
“I get to mess with people all day long and trick them and perform magic, but this was a special one.”
It was difficult keeping this a surprise from Drake and Zach. The media had to tell a little fib and say they were filming a commercial for the magic shop.
