John Stancavage: Amazing Kreskin predicts American Airlines will do well out of bankruptcy, and other thoughts on 2013
BY JOHN STANCAVAGE World Business Editor
Sunday, January 06, 2013
1/06/13 at 7:04 AM
I was pondering our 2013 outlook when I received an unexpected email.
Would I like to interview The Amazing Kreskin about his predictions for the new year?
I did a double-take and then some verification. Indeed, the veteran "mentalist" who performed all those incredible feats for TV hosts such as Johnny Carson and, more recently, Jimmy Fallon, really was offering a 30-minute chat.
That's amazing, I thought.
It turns out that Kreskin on the phone is exactly like Kreskin on TV. The 77-year-old entertainer is a bundle of energy, talking quickly, often asking his own questions and then answering them, getting off on tangents and running out of time.
After an exchange of pleasantries, Kreskin enthusiastically described his last "failure."
More than a year before the presidential election, he was asked to predict the Republican nominee. Like the master showman he is, he did this on NBC's Fallon show and sealed the secret answer in a variety of locked boxes.
When the boxes were opened, it turned out he had not written "Romney." Instead, Kreskin had a name come to him that at the time was almost unknown: Paul Ryan.
"How did that happen?" said Kreskin, who claims not to be a psychic. "I read minds. I do a lot of traveling, and I pick up on people's moods and thoughts. The name just popped into my head."
Reading Americans' minds these days generally is not a happy activity, he said. People are troubled, and that wariness dominates his predictions for 2013.
They include:
- New lawyers will have difficulty finding work. The U.S. already has one attorney for every 265 people.
- The stock market will do OK but not great. Pressures such as global tensions, terror threats and rising crime rates will dampen confidence.
- Bartenders will flourish. More than ever, people need someone they trust to talk to about their problems.
- American Airlines will do well after bankruptcy. "They strike me as survivors," said Kreskin, who noted he has flown some 3 million miles in his career.
- People will rediscover the simple pleasure of having a meal together and talking. Because of our now-beloved iPhones and iPads, we've lost the knack for personal communication.
As for that last item, I risked marital discord last year with my own rant on the subject. Of all Kreskin's predictions, it's the one I hope most he has right.
That really would be amazing.
Original Print Headline: Amazing Kreskin's 2013 notes
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