Twistin’ the day away

Young Chang

If you’re elderly or have a big beer gut or look uncannily like pop

star Justin Timberlake’s younger brother, then beware.

For any of these random reasons, Twister host Poor Man may choose you.

“I pick sort of the underdog. I pick people that wouldn’t want to be

in it,” said the host of the Orange County Fair’s Twister contests. “I

have to convince them, but they’ll all end up doing it.”

Every night through July 29, Poor Man -- a local radio personality

whose real name is Jim Trenton -- will choose four players from the crowd

at Heritage Stage while 12 spots will remain open for contestants to sign

up.

Sixteen strangers will compete to get the correct hand or foot on the

announced color pad in a battle of the limber. The winners of the first

round move on to the finals, and all the winners will compete in a last

round July 29. The winner gets a $5,000 gift certificate to California

Spa and Jacuzzi.

“You gotta be limber,” Poor Man said. “If you’re stiff, you couldn’t

win.”

You also have to be willing to get close and cozy with people you

don’t know.

Andrew Smith, 12, was such a contestant. Poor Man called him Justin

Timberlake because the host always makes up nicknames for the

contestants. Smith had no qualms about sharing 15 minutes of fame in such

a close space with strangers.

“I was perfectly fine with it,” said the Colorado resident who is

visiting Costa Mesa for the summer.

And you’d also be surprised, Poor Man said, at how limber senior

citizens can be. One man from last week’s games was 61 and named Earl. He

was a good dancer and could do the Chubby Checker Twist, as well as

compete in the game.

A woman, a 72-year-old named Estelle, became confused when she stepped

up to the stage because she thought she was being asked to dance the

Twist.

And yet another senior, also 72, blew Poor Man away.

“She was so limber, you couldn’t believe it,” the host said.

Andrew, who won a Twister T-shirt, the actual game and a box of

Lemonhead candies Monday, said he’s never really practiced his game.

“I just happen to be really good at it,” he said. “I guess to some

degree I’m flexible, but I don’t stretch or do gymnastics.”

Poor Man suspects that this Orange County Fair attraction might be the

start of something bigger.

“You never know -- this might create a whole new sort of resurgence in

a game that’s been around forever but kind of been forgotten,” he said.