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PLEASE READ FIRST (May 2026 update)

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I left kidney failure surgery rehab on May 12 at 7 a.m. By that evening, I was back living out of my 2005 Honda Civic.

It is good I'm 5'6". That first night I slid into the back seat with my legs stretched into the trunk, twisting carefully to protect my kidney surgery. It was the most painful sleep I've ever had. As I lay there in the dark, I thought about the belly gunners in Vietnam — men who folded themselves into turrets barely the size of a person, hour after hour, because they had a job to do. Whatever I'm doing in this car, they did worse. I held that thought and made it through the night.

The next morning May 13, I slid a board across the seat and trunk to flatten the gap, laid down my half-inch foam yoga mat, and tried again. Last night was better. Still on my back, still unable to turn — but I am an escape artist by trade. Milk cans, packing crates, nailed-shut contraptions. Claustrophobia has never been a problem, and then the rain started pouring through my slightly open windows that kept the heat from building in my car. I will fix that tomorrow.

What I am not used to is doing it at 72, sixty days out of surgery and according to my doctor still healing for another four months.

https://youtu.be/5_vv31f9kvM

60 YEARS OF MAGIC. ONE NEW CHALLENGE.

But here is the strange thing that amazes people I meet: I am still positive minded, believe in God, and working toward my come back. I am slowly getting my motor and mental skills back so I can respond to messages directly even though Tim, Tiffany, and Marianne still have my back in following through if I miss something.

From the back seat of that Honda, I am finishing my book — The Mindset Magician. I dictate paragraphs into my phone while lying on my back, then sit up and arrange them on my laptop. I walk a treadmill at Planet Fitness and I keep guests smiling with close-up magic every day — they let me shower there, which is a piece of dignity I don't take for granted. I am 5'6" of healing flesh living a Honda Civic with a failing transmission, and I stay cheerful and I am still working.

Yet today, at 72, I am facing my most difficult escape ever.

Escaping Delaware's 8-Year Housing Waitlist.

And there is something I keep thinking about as I lie awake.

When I was a boy growing up in Delaware, my neighbor Mrs. Hogate taught me how to see differently. She was blind. I'd practice my sleight of hand in front of her even though she couldn't see — she said she could feel my energy and my passion. She had been a dancer in her younger years; she once shared a stage with Houdini in a New York revue. Watching her move through her own house, touching things in particular ways to know them, taught me more about sleight of hand than any book ever did. We all thought we were helping her. She was helping me.

Now, in my final years, I am the one living in darkness. I keep the car windows tinted and insulated from the hot sun. Darkness is my friend as light attracts attention; attention means I will need to move my car, no one wants to see a homeless person on their street. So, as a master magician I create an illusion. Never staying too long at one spot, I sit behind my darkened windows and write. Planning my encore, because I don't want to give up. Also, I feel Mrs. Hogate would have understood every minute of this, and I thank her dearly.

My dream is not just to survive in a car and wait out my clock, but to thrive with all that I am.

"Mindset Magic" that's what drives me... I want to help the next generation of entertainers avoid the pitfalls I faced, using my mindset skills, stories, and integrity to help guide them. But first, I need that safe place to fully heal and finish my work. Making people smile everyday.

The Sacramento Kings First Winning Game Featured Troy Milligan!

I have never used illegal drugs. I have never abused alcohol. I have spent my whole life building the right mindset and spreading hope. I have a gift for turning would-be muggers into friends using mindset, magic and compassion — and I'm not exaggerating; it has happened more than once. I am not in this car because I made bad choices. Well, I did make one bad choice on my retirement investment way back during the Covid scare, but I faced it and moved on. A good mindset does not live in the past, it learns from it.

Unexpected emergency surgery

I am in this car because the system has nowhere to put a 72-year-old man who unexpectedly had emergency surgery that removed his left kidney before it killed him. I have always been clean, sober, mentally sound. Now I am short on time, and fallen upon an unexpected difficulty… yet I am willing to work at getting on stage again, doing what I need to do while finishing my book as my gift to entertainers.

I do not qualify nor do I have eight plus years to get subsidized housing.

I still have big dreams and goals. I just will not give up. When you read my book you will know why.

If you can help me get a roof over my head with a safe place to heal —

I don't want you to look at it as a handout but an investment for a runway — it will get me off the streets and I will keep performing and trying until… My encore happens.

If you've donated already, thank you. If you haven't, anything helps even $5 will have an impact. If you can't donate, share this post with one person or more. You'll become part of my next escape — and I have never failed one yet. However this time I admit I do need your help!

Thank you for being part of my Magical Encore.

— Troy "The Mindset Magician"

Special thanks to my core friends across the country

— Tim, Tiffany, and Marianne! You guys are the best...