After months of being back to in-person visits with the dogs, I thought that Zoom was safely in our past. That changed last Wednesday when we did a call with the Mattel Youth Ambassadors, a group of high schoolers who give back to others while learning about the medical field.
I was a little nervous when I found out we were going to be Zooming again. My first thought was “uh oh, technical issues,” like the disastrous visit where my audio wouldn’t go on. I immediately contacted my personal Geek Squad in the Silicone Valley for support.
My next concern was hair and makeup.
ELBEE Of course it was.
On the bright side, Henry could join Gus and Stanley on the call.
Once we logged into the meeting, by some miracle, they sat quietly next to me while I introduced them and shared stories about their amazing work. Henry learned very quickly about getting screen time.
ELBEE Two questions. Where is Gus and why is she wearing sunglasses?
When it came to doing a few tricks, it got a little chaotic but was probably more entertaining than watching them do a perfect sit. It was difficult not being able to see the kids, like not having an audience, but as a friend so aptly put it, “it’s like a live reality show.”
Speaking of reality shows, the same day I heard about the zoom call, I also heard that America’s Got Talent was auditioning for next season. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
A few years ago, a “senior” bodybuilder was on the show, looking good but 
basically doing a non-act. She kept flexing her biceps and yelling “pow.” To the horror of my oldest daughter, who still has vivid and disturbing memories of my bodybuilding days, I kidded, sort of, that I should try out.
Another old lady bodybuilding act wasn’t going to cut it, so I considered adding the dogs. I practiced bench pressing Gus and Stanley for a possible dog/danger act. Then I thought what if I told a joke while I had the dogs in the air.
ELBEE Great idea if she was funny.
Jen, the director of PAC at UCLA, fueled my AGT obsession. During the pandemic, Jen and I did lots of Zoom calls. Before logging in, we’d discuss how we could make the calls more interesting, so interesting that we could audition for the show.
On a challenge from a friend, we did headstands. We tried singing but we’re both tone deaf. Magicians seem to be crowd pleasing but Jen only has one potential trick and I’ve got none.
Last week as we chatted before the Mattel call, I shared a great idea with Jen. From all of my obsessive watching, I’d noticed that ventriloquists have become very popular.
Being a good sport she was willing to give it a shot. For the next few minutes we tried talking to each other without moving our lips. If we can make it look like the dogs are talking, AGT here we come!
I’m wearing sunglasses because I’m so embarrassed for them.
