BY VICTOR NASH

The scene was the fellowship hall of my church, Christ Church of Arlington, Va., on a Wednesday morning. A lively group of 20 five- and six-year-old boys and girls had assembled for their "WOW" session. Wednesday mornings throughout the summer the church sponsored a series of children's programs of crafts, sports, field trips and other activities known as "WOWs" - Wildly Outrageous Wednesdays!

The church's director of ministries, Cindy Brewer, heard a rumor that I was an amateur juggler, and asked me to give the WOW kids a 45-minute juggling demonstration and lesson. I gulped a few times as of pandemonium flashed through my head, but then I got up enough nerve to say I'd do it.

Although my wife, Jane, and I raised four children and are now blessed with two lovely granddaughters, I had never tried to teach a whole class of children anything. I was satisfied that our own Sunday School youngsters, lively as they were, would be well-behaved. However, I couldn't quite assure myself that the neighborhood kids would be the same. Aside from behavior, another problem struck me immediately: would kids of such a tender age, who barely knew up from down, be able to understand juggling instructions? And what about their attention span for a 45-minute program? Oh well, I was committed - for better or worse!

I scheduled myself for the next to last session of the summer so I would have ample time to prepare. My first step was to order 20 sets of 3 nylon scarves each. Then I thought of my granddaughter, Amy, an 11-year-old IJA member who is an excellent scarf juggler, as a teaching partner. She lives in Virginia Beach, Va., but would be visiting us during the week of the class. She agreed to help, so that was taken care of as well.

Next, I dug out a juggling demonstration speech I had given many years ago as a member of Toastmaster's International. This became the nucleus of the script I would write for the WOW session.

On the big day Amy and I (along with my wife, Jane, with our camcorder) arrived

early at the fellowship hall, set up the equipment, organized the juggling props and went backstage. When we returned, the children were in the middle of an indoor relay race, and I was immediately zapped in the chest with a large balloon batted at close range by a very energetic and forceful little boy.

After their race, our program supervisor, Donna Sanson, herded the children over to sit on the floor near the stage and the TV set. After introducing Amy and myself, I told them, with as much sprightliness as I could muster (for an old codger who just that month observed the 30th anniversary of his 39th birthday!): "During the next 45 spellbinding, nerve wracking minutes, the happiest (not to say "wildest") dream of your young lives is about to come true ­THIS MORNING YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO JUGGLE!" ... voiced in mock stentorian tone of an Army drill sergeant . .. "I'm not saying you'll be experts at the end of this short class, but you'll know the basics. All seriousness aside, I'm sure we're all going to have lots of fun."

Next came a few general words - what juggling is and where you're apt to see jugglers. By a show of hands, most kids knew about juggling and had seen jugglers before - on TV, in circuses, theaters, or elsewhere. A few said they even knew how to juggle a little.

Next I dug into my prop box and showed them some beanbags, several types of balls, rings and clubs. I limited my actual juggling to cascades and showers with the beanbags, using taped background music. Despite my nervousness, I managed to juggle without any drops, and the wide-eyed audience responded with rousing applause. Amy (bless her heart!) sprang to her feet when I finished, and was an applause starter par excellence throughout the session.

I asked Amy to demonstrate scarf jug­gling to the taped background tune of "The Pink Panther Theme," one of her favorites. She flawlessly went through her routine with style and grace, including four scarves and kneeling and rising without missing a beat in her pattern. The appreciative kids erupted with more applause and couldn't wait any longer to try it themselves.

But first I wanted to reinforce their eagerness with the Strider Productions videotape, "juggling," showing a group of children learning scarves in their school gymnasium from Dave Finnigan.

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