Locals Show Off Their Stupid Tricks
The chicken chickened out. But a dog that played tetherball came
through. So did a woman who used her toes and feet to peel and eat a banana and
a man who balanced a tray of glasses filled with water on his head without spilling
a drop while performing a flamenco-type dance.
You know 'em; you love 'em; you can't live without 'em
—
it's Stupid Pet and Human Tricks!
The "Late Show With David Letterman" sent one of its talent scouts
to the KRQE-TV, Channel 13 studio in Albuquerque on Sunday to see what New Mexicans
had in the way of stupid pet or human tricks for the popular segment on the Letterman
show.
Contestants streamed into the studio between noon and 3 p.m.
to audition in front of a camera. Their tapes will be evaluated and sent to New
York for review. There will be some lucky ones who get a callback to go to New York
and do their tricks with Letterman on the Ed Sullivan Theater Stage.
And, as in every town, there were some doozies.
Bill Langworthy, who says his title is "Stupid Pet and Human
Trick" coordinator, got the first look at the local talent.
Ana Pope, 20, walked in bare-footed, stated her name and phone
number for the camera and then proceeded to do her trick. Plopping down on the floor,
she positioned a banana between her toes, popped off the nub on the end of the banana,
peeled it, and then, using her feet, lifted it to her mouth and began eating. She
would peel and eat, peel and eat, without so much as cracking a smile.
"The character in a book I was reading when I was 16 or 17 did
it, and I just tried it one day," she said. "I've been doing it ever since."
Mason Blake showed some unusual musical talent.
"I can play 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' on my hands," said
Blake, who squeezed his palms together and sounded out the tune.
Cynthia Bency brought her tetherball-playing dog, Angel. The
dog leaped and poked at the tetherball to make it swirl around the pole, which Bency
brought all the way from Belen.
Langworthy was interested but suggested an adjustment.
"We like to use pets that look like they were just born to do
that particular trick," he said. "So, let's try it again with you playing with Angel
and then Angel going at it by herself."
Angel pooped out on the third take, but Langworthy said he got
what he needed on tape.
One of the day's highlights was 57-year-old Miguel Caro, who
filled 10 glasses full of water, placed them on a metal tray and then balanced it
on his head while performing a dance.
Caro, who performs with Ballet Folklorico and teaches dance at
the University of New Mexico and elsewhere, actually brought a smile to Langworthy's
face.
That doesn't appear to be easy to do. Langworthy travels on weekends
searching for talent. And one gets the sense there isn't much this guy hasn't seen.
When Bobby McKinney finished his trick, which included stretching
his tongue up to his nose "to pick it," in his words, Langworthy said, "You have
talent, but not the trick.
"Do you think you can get some mini marshmallows, place them
on the end of your tongue and stick them up your nose? That would be different.
Send me a tape of it."
Locals can still call 1-888-PET-TRIK (1-888-738-8745) to find
out how to audition for the show. The producers also accept videotape of tricks.
"The only way to be sure you won't be on the show is not to call,"
said Langworthy. "I encourage people to do it if they have something unique."
A few acts didn't quite have their best performance Sunday.
One person brought a trained chicken but left before the audition
saying it just wasn't a good day for the bird. But a few eggs were left behind,
said KRQE news director Dan Salamone.
Then there was Neecie, a chubby white rabbit who was supposed
to play ring-around-the-rosie, but decided to plop down and admire the ground instead.
"I'm interested in the rabbit," said Langworthy to the pet's
owner, Denise Fairbanks. "Sounds like a smart bunny. Get her doing her trick on
tape and send it to me."
Jennifer Jordan, however, did precisely what she described for
the audition crew.
"Oh, you're here to really gross me out," Langworthy said.
Jordan chewed on a candy bar, swallowed it, left it in her throat
a few minutes while talking and then regurgitated it right back up to her tongue.
"Uh, OK, that was, uh, that was fine, uh, I think," Langworthy
said. "I think I got what we need. Do you need to regurgitate anything else before
you go?"
Jordan politely said no, but added that she also has a very loud
burp, pops her ears and can clap her thighs together
—
all really loudly.
And who says New Mexicans aren't talented?
http://www.abqjournal.com/paperboy/text/news/249422fun02-12-01.htm
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