From: IBE4GSUS@aol.com
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 22:35:53 EDT
Subject: lungs of steel, and brain of... haven't figured that out yet
To: balloon@balloonhq.com

Ignoring the whole speed thing with blowing up balloons by mouth, there can 
also be some entertainment value from it.

It is awesome seeing the expressions on people's faces, especially older kids 
and adults, when I take a balloon and blow the whole thing up in one breath.  
Then, I get to play with it for a while.  I might stagger around, or, if the 
reaction is good enough, I'll even fall down.  Then, I'll get up, and start 
making the balloon for an empty space, about 3 feet to the left of the child.

Invariably, somebody will want to try it for themselves.  It's most likely a 
boy, and a little older (10 or so).  I give them a balloon, and they try to 
blow it up.  They never can.  Then I tell them to stretch it by pulling it 
behing their back.  They still can't inflate it.  sometimes, I'll be accused 
of giving them a trick balloon.  Then, I take the balloon back from them, 
wipe it off, and blow it up, without staggering or anything.  Then I proceed 
to make something for them.

I do ballooning, not full entertainment.  My situations are usually the 
"50,000 kids around me wanting balloons with anxious parents wanting to 
leave", so I try to make it as quick as possible, but also put as much 
entertainment into the ballooning as possible.  The blowing up process gives 
me a great opportunity.

(Sorry, once I get started, I never shut up)

Another way to put a little entertainment into ballooning without adding 
jokes or whatever, is to make a big deal when a balloon pops.  Sometimes I 
will jump back as if it scared me to death, and then, when a kid picks it up 
and hands it back to me, I act afraid of it.  Or, I can ask for a moment of 
silence for the poor balloon, and give it a eulogy, something like, "He lived 
a short, but full life.  As long as I have known him, it felt like he had a 
part of me with him.  Now we say goodbye to this little piece of rubber."  
Then the moment of silence.  Then, "OK, NEXT!!!!!!!" as I pull out another 
balloon and move on.

FuFu the Gr8
"I'm the only person I know of who answers to the name 'FuFu'."