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After that 20-minute video, it was their turn to practice what we preached. Amy gave each child a set of three new red, blue and yellow nylon scarves, fresh from Brian Dube in New York. I told everyone to pick out a spot on the floor and stay there so they wouldn't bump into each other. Then as the children watched Amy closely, she demonstrated each move again. Then I said, "Now let's all try it together, slowly and step by step." I held my breath and said a silent but fervent prayer - after all, we were in a church, right?

I was amazed at how well these youngsters followed directions. I was also amazed at their fierce determination to do it right! We "walked through" several cascade patterns in slow motion as Amy and I circulated, giving one-on-one instruction and correction where needed. There was one little boy who moaned, "This is too complicated," and threw his scarves in the trash can, but Amy fished them out, gave him some encouragement and calmed him down.

At the other end of the spectrum was a tiny little girl who tried valiantly to get her scarves moving correctly. Her upward tosses were nothing short of heroic, but her retrieval technique was lacking. She didn't complain once, but just grinned as she scooped them up from the floor and tried again and again to get it right. What an inspiration! By the end of the 20-minute period most were going through the basic pattern correctly, if not always smoothly.

At that point, I couldn't help making like Professor Higgins in "My Fair Lady" and exclaiming "By George, I think you've got it!"

To conclude the session I had the children sit down, and I juggled my beanbags to background music, then performed the tried-and-true apple-eating routine. I tried a bit of humor and asked what would be worse than seeing a worm in the apple as I chewed it. Immediately one little smarty yelled, "Half a worm!", confirming my strong belief that today's children don't miss a trick!

Amy and I took our bows amid generous applause and urged these future stars to practice with their new scarves at home so that they could move on to beanbags, balls, clubs and rings. We led into the snack period with parts of Start Right Video's "Who? Me? Juggle?" featuring Dan Menendez and other California jugglers. Again the children watched, transfixed!

It was heartwarming for Amy and me to see the sparkling eyes of those kids as they rotated those three colorful bits of nylon fluff through the air and proudly realized they had learned something new. As we waved goodbye I found myself humming "You Make Me Feel So Young," which I had sung at my retirement party 14 years ago, just before doing a little juggling routine! .

Reflecting on the events of this memorable morning, my original doubts about (1) being able to get the message across to the children and surviving the "ordeal" myself, and (2) the collective behavior and responsiveness of the kids - were completely dispelled. In fact, if Cindy Brewer asks me to do a WOW again next year, I'll gladly say "Yes!" If you have similar opportunties, I urge you to "step right up" as well - the floor is all yours!

Victor Nash is a published freelance writer and retired auditor from the U.S. Office of Inspector General who now works part-time with a financial management consulting firm. He was an infantry rifleman in WW II. On VE-Day in Stuttgart, Germany, he and a buddy put on an impromptu juggling act as part of an amateur show to celebrate the momentous occasion.