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It's been about 20 months since I moved to Florida from New York, and the beginning was spent mostly on setting up life for myself and my family, so entertaining regularly took a backseat until December. But after starting the great restaurant hunt (another article for another day) I find myself in the position that I was seeking; three restaurants all pleased with me, and my desire for creativity re-emerging. I missed the spotlight, the entertainment, and the KAWFEE!!!
You've seen me type KAWFEE!!! A million times, but I don't think I ever really took the time to explain what KAWFEE is to me.
Well, OF COURSE it's a nifty li'l beverage, and the go-juice I use to kick my performances into gear, but it's symbolic of more than that. KAWFEE!!! Is my mojo. It's something intangible that I turn to to get me through rocky moments. KAWFEE!!! Is expression- my expression through entertainment. KAWFEE!!! Is my reassurance that when I'm entertaining, I'm doing something important. Whenn I find myself in a restaurant or private event, I turn to KAWFEE!!! To get the creative juices flowing. Enter the great peanut controversy.
One of the restaurants I work at has the most attractive lure; peanuts on every table. Not only that, their lobby has a big metal bathtub FILLED with the things! It's actually an excellent attraction for a family oriented restaurant, and economical as well. I tend to maintain a philosophy of never eating before going to work a restaurant because I don't want to feel bloated while performing; a philosophy that has served me well over the years. However, the lure of the PEANUTS! A man can only stand so much... and I gave in to the temptation.
One night, I turned to a mother sitting at the table I was performing at; "Do you mind reaching in that tin cup in the center of the table and removing a peanut?" She started to do so with hesitation, to which I followed my statement up with, "I have the coolest trick to show you!"
Now she started to lose her hesitation. There was a purpose to her task, and she was no longer in the dark as to what that purpose was.
"OOOh!! Ok, now shell it too. Thanks."
A bit more hesitation, but she was right there shelling the peanut. I plastered a look of extreme enthusiasm on my face, as if I was aware of something amazing to come. Her hesitation drifted away, replaced with enthusiasm.
"OK, now peel the skin off of the peanut as well. Yeah, that's it. You're doing ok so far."
Now those of you who know me and my style of entertaining know that I like to make things entertaining by making things challenging. I'm not the entertainer who shows up, twists a nice balloon sculpture, and gently hands it forward with a smile on my face. I may do that a bit, but it's mixed in with a healthy portion of sarcasm.
"Ok,the peanut's shelled and the skin removed? GOOD! Now tuck it into, eerrrrrr... excuse me, could you remove that little pointy nub at the top of the peanut please? I know I hadn't asked you to do so before but I thought you understood we need this peanut in pristine condition for this trick... yes, I understand you're only doing what I tell you....perhaps it was foolish of me to expect you to take so quickly to a task as complicated as thinking. I'll try to lower my expectations a bit, ma'am, my apologies."
Now after the laughter from everyone around us died down, she removed the pointed nub at the top of the peanut and almost without fail that peanut divided into two seperate pieces. At THAT point, I laid into her.
"Ma'am, I expected you to do things on your own before, you got upset with me for expecting you to think. Now I give you explicit detailed instructions on EXACTLY what to do... and you fail to do what I ask, Really ma'am, what I'm ASKING of you is PEANUTS!"
Now she was laughing with everyone else because she realized she was being picked on for entertainment purposes.
"Please pick out a fresh peanut" I said, and the process started again; the shelling, the peeling of the skin, the peanut as a whole, ready to be used for an amazing trick.
Finally, she was ready with a peanut. It was perfect - and she had gone through a lot to get it to that condition.
"This better be one DOOZY of a trick!!!"
I continued my smile of anticipation over the amazing thing she was about to witness.
"Ok, gently tuck the peanut into my left fist. Tuck it all the way in. Perfect!" I said, as the peanut now rested in my left fist. "Now reach over for a second peanut and do it again"
Now the process wasn't as detailed as the first time, but the impression is clear; torture her heavilly the first time around, but then ease up on the torture while making the repetition of the task a greater focus.
In essence, there was an increase in the speed with which she was shelling, skinning, and placing the peanuts into my fist.
The nice thing was, I tortured her a bit, but returned them back to a path of thinking that they are working towards accomplishing a goal; they've regained their confidence. I like that. Regaining confidence means I can now STRIP them of it a second time!!!
So the process continues. One peanut, two peanuts, three peanuts; all pushed into my hand. And with each reach for a new peanut, her head turned away from me momentarilly - long enough to pop each fisted peanut right into my mouth. The other guests at the table are laughing, people at surrounding tables are laughing, yet because of her turned head she misses this and the gag continues. I'm careful not to chew while the gag is being perfiormed.
"OK! Now that's three peanuts in my left hand. Please reach over, shell one last peanut and place it within your own left hand. WONDERFUL!!"
Again, my mood is back at being polite and the expression on my face is one of excitement over what's about to happen.
"Ma'am,this is called the great peanut controversy!!!! You will place your hand side by side with my hand, with both of our hands being in front of your mouth. When I count to three, you will blow hard on both hands. We both shall open our hands and upon careful examination, it will become clear to you that despite forcing three peanuts into my closed left fist and only one into your own, you will, in fact, be holding more peanuts than me."
Notice, I have NEVER stated how many peanuts she will be holding when she opens her hand. Have I left her with the impression that she will open her hand revealing only one peanut? No. have I indicated that she will open her hand to reveal all of the peanuts magically jumping into her hand, similar to a sponge ball routine? No. But my allowing for vagueness in my statement allows for the young lady to draw her own conclusions as to what is about to happen. It is more than likely that the greater the expression on the entertainer's face at a moment like this, the more magnificent her expectations.
The BIG REVEAL!
"One... Two... THREE!"
She blows hard on the peanuts. I hold my fist up to my eye and appear to be carefully eeking inside. If there's a desire to further drag out the gag, which I will often do, I will look back at her and tell her, "Didn't blow hard enough - do it again!" Three count again, and again... and again...and this can go on COUNTLESS times! NEVER let it go beyond the boundaries of her level of patience. Eventually I move forward from this point; She is blowing as hard as she can, after all.
"Thank you for blowing on both hands and NOW!! Through the magical power of your bad breath!!... oooohhh!! errr... sorry ma'am... that didn't come out right. THROUGH THE POWER OF YOUR BREATHTHE GREAT PEANUT CONTROVERSY HAS HAPPENNED!!" Maam open your hand and reveal to everyone how many peanuts are there!"
A look of confidence is plastered on my face, as I know I will have less peanuts in my hand than she will in hers. Her hand opens to reveal a peanut - but only one peanut. My facial expression changes to one of shock and dismay - I appear to be surprised by the reveal of a single peanut.
"The only way I can have less than one peanut in my hand is if my hand were....empty."
Hand opens and reveals NOTHING inside.
The look on the participant's face is always priceless. Sometimes they truly are stunned as to how it is possible that they have a peanut while my hand is empty. Sometimes they get it right away, and develop that LOOK upon their face - that look that says, "I'm a sucker" For those who DON'T get it right away, I don't need to tell them. The others at the table take great joy in pointing out the gullibility of the participant for never picking up on it. The nice thing about that is that someone else, usually a bunch of people, have taken the pressure off of me as being the "bad guy for pulling such a prank." I'm usually left with the joy of patting the participant on the shouder, winking, and thanking her for feeding me-"I didn't have dinner yet, anyway, and she really helped to take the edge off of my appetite."
Laughs are had all the way around. I have entertained-and that's really what it's supposed to be about. It's not about "look how amazing the balloon is". In reality, it SHOULD be about "look how amazing the ENTERTAINER is!" In the first sentence the balloon is invaluable- in the second, I am. If there"s one thing I want them-ANYONE-to remember when they exit, it's that I kept them entertained.
So what in the world does this have to do with balloons? PEANUTS! Literally.
I'm a big believer in finding a participant that becomes a bit of a victim in my routines, but it's equally important to me that they finish up the entertainment in a positive manner. I don't want them to leave with their last thought being, "I just got duped by the balloon guy!" I want them to leave being entertained, just as everyone else has. This is accomplished, believe it or not, by returning to the scene of the crime.
"Wait, don't feel bad. Let me make it up to you. I have something amazing to show you."
With that, I will do a simple ball in the balloon routine with two peanuts, place one on each side of the balloon, twist it in half and spiral it around itself. They are caught up in the speed with which I do this, the end result of the peanuts actually being IN the balloon, the fact that it now becomes a toy to be occupied with. Whichever reason they find most fascinating, the bottom line is that they have finished up on a note where they have not only been entertained, but their imagination has been captured. They will remember; it could be days, it could be years, but at some point they will tell the story of the balloon entertainer from the restaurant, and they will speak of the great peanut controversy..
Thanks for reading and good luck with your own peanut controversies...remember the balloon isn't the entertainer....YOU are. The balloon is your medium for entertaining, as is anything else around you that can be used for humor.....even peanuts.
Please e mail me and let me know what you think of this month's article, as well as some of your own "peanut controversies"
Cloud9prty@aol.com
On the gulf coast of Florida, it's pronounced, "KAWFEE!!!"
Jimmy Leo - Cloud 9 balloons
New Port Richey, Fl.
