My father took magic very seriously and went way beyond simple slight of hand that this article suggests. He could make coins disappear without a trace. Our mother was often astonished when she found all the money in the house and bank had vanished. One day he wanted to show us a disappearance trick with a cigarettes carton. He didn't have one so he went to the corner to pick one up. He hasn't been seen since. A true magician never reveals his trick.
Sounds like a Johnny Cash song.
It was the prolog to a 70s sitcom as I recall, about the dad going to the corner for cigarettes and only coming back years later. I can’t remember what the show was now though.
The dad who went out for cigarettes is a big trope in American culture. The joke only really works if you know that. See https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ParentNeverCameB...
Also Springsteen (at least the opening lines): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boJhWtw-6Gg
Probably this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1Ple-qYuU
Was your dad D. B. Cooper?