Guest Bloggers Julie and Mykle: An Amazing Audition for the Amazing Race

Meet Mykle Flatley, cousin to Jacquie and Ellie and self-proclaimed Amazing Race Addict:

My spouse, Doug, is at fault for my love of The Amazing Race. Many years ago, I was a "reality show hater" and refused to watch any reality shows. Doug had seen some of The Amazing Race during his lunch breaks on the evening shift at work. He came home and convinced me to watch it, praising the creativity of the show, the challenges and the travel. He also told me the part which was the kicker: no one is voted off the show...it's simply a race...the last team to arrive at the end of each leg is eliminated. So, I thought I'd give it a shot and started watching The Amazing Race, Season 4. By the end of the first episode, I was like a crack addict...wanting more! Since that time, I tried to get Doug to apply with me, but after the 3rd time of him backing out when it was time to submit the applications, I gave up on Doug.

Editor's note: the following exchange is exerpted from a colorful facebook exchange over the course of six hours on January 19, 2010

Mykle Flatley (Jacquie and Ellie's cousin) via The Amazing Race:
"I have one spouse, seven siblings and more than 60 cousins. There must be SOMEONE who will apply for this show with me!"

Julie (Jacquie and Ellie's sister):
"I'm in! "

Mykle:
"Don't tease me, Julie Corey !"

Julie:
"it's on, cuz! Where do I sign? "

Julie:
"you may need to find a cousin in closer proximity, or hone your photo and video splicing skills. we're supposed to submit a photo and video of us together. do you think they'll accept family reunion home video from 1978?"

Mykle:
"Oh, you don't know me at all! I once flew to Hong Kong to go bungee jumping and was in Asia for a total of 11 hours before getting on a flight back home. Asheville is like going to the grocery store for me."

Doug (Mykle's spouse):
"Don't dare him Julie. He's '40 cats crazy'!"

Jacquie:
"Julie and Myke.... hmmmm. I have to admit I've always loved the idea of your HUSBAND doing it with you, but if he really won't (come ON, Doug), Julie would be an excellent replacement. Be warned, though... she's a puker. "

Mykle:
"I LOVE THE COREY GIRLS!!! Your banter cracks me up! Doug, the only one who is '40 cats crazy' is you, for not jumping at the chance to race around the world with me. ... "

On January 28th, Julie and Mykle made their audition tape:


The Audition Tape Story
by Julie

My cousin Mykle asked me to do the Amazing Race with him. My immediate impulse was HELL YES. My cousin Mykle and I are both blessed with being glass-is-half-full people, with a heightened sense of spontaneity. Our glass-is-half-empty friends and loved ones might, contrarily, describe this personality trait as 'cursed with a rash sense of impulsiveness'. Alas. This trait/curse has served us both well. We are the doers, the go-getters, the grab-life-by-the-throaters.

This spontaneity, however, sometimes lacks the important element of due diligence. Like manual reading, or thinking through an idea before jumping in. Point in case, our decision to audition for the Amazing Race. Mykle threw it out there, I DOVE in. Then I read the audition guidelines. Which include the requirement of an audition tape with both parties present. Oh. Mykle lives in Phoenix, Arizona; I live in Asheville, North Carolina. I had to hang my head and let Mykle know this may not be doable, as the audition application is due by February 4.

Did I mention that Mykle is spontaneous? His response: Julie, you don't know me as well as you think you do. I'll fly in to make the tape with you. How's next Friday look?


Well next Friday looked great! Until the snowstorm of the century came into the forecast. He was due to land in Asheville at 11, and fly out at 5. The plan was that I'd pick him up from the airport and take him back to the house, where we'd complete our written applications and do the still photo shoot, leaving a few hours to shoot the video, visit, and tool around Asheville. Did I mention the Snowstorm of the Century was forecast?

We got our business done (amid much maniacal laughter), and checked the weather. A FOOT of snow was coming. Schools dismissed early. Businesses were shutting down. Mykle checked the flight schedule out of, as he calls it, Asheville Intergalactic Airport, and saw that there was a flight out at 2:20 with 20 available seats. He could potentially get on that flight as stand-by. We asked a few of my sensible cohorts their opinion, and they all said "GET HIM ON THAT PLANE!". So we did. We did the practical thing, and got him on the flight. Mykle was in town for exactly 3.25 hours, 40 minutes of which were spent driving to and from the airport. He flew out at 2:20, and a foot of snow fell between 3:00 and 6:00. We made exceptional use of that 3 hours of our lives. We caught up on a decade or two of life. We laughed, we bonded, we took pictures, and we had a great time shooting our Amazing Race video.

We've shared this story with our enormous family. We are two of 67 first cousins, our parents being siblings in their family of 15. The support and enjoyment our family has shared in our endeavor is priceless. Whether we get on the show or not, this has been an experience for the ages.


See for yourself how amazing they are: audition tape

Editor's note: Mykle's Amazing Antics did not end there, and the story of getting this next bit written was so, so funny... if the peeps need more proof that Julie and Mykle will be a perfect pair for the Amazing Race, they should check my email. In Mykle's first draft, he referred to himself in the 3rd person, thinking it was supposed to come from me, an effort that inspired Doug compare his writing to Sgt. Joe Friday (boring); and then he changed it only to have his ever-supportive spouse upgrade the effort with a comparison to CHiPS officer Poncherelli.

And the fun continued: Being a huge fan of The Amazing Race, I have the race as one of my Fan Pages on Facebook. The race sent out a notice that the Co-Creator/Executive Producer, Elise Doganieri, as well as Senior Producer, Michael Norton, were going to be speaking at a charity event on February 28th in the Los Angeles area. As more proof of sponftaneity, Doug and I flew over to L.A. for the weekend to attend the event.

During the presentation, Elise said that they were going to play a game...and three Amazing Race clue envelopes were hiding underneath seats throughout the room. We were told to search around for them, but don't open them. I reached around under the seat and felt something. I thought "no way". As luck would have it, I found one of the envelopes! The three of us lucky people went up to the stage and were told to open our clues and to follow the instructions. When Elise said "GO!", we ripped open the envelope. Honestly, I have dreamt about ripping open one of those envelopes...it felt as if I was really on The Amazing Race. Inside was a red Road Block folder, which just piqued my excitement even further. Inside of the Road Block folder was a piece of paper with instructions to scavenger for a pen & paper and answer 4 geography questions. I ran out into the audience, where several folks were willing to help me. I was the first to obtain the pen, paper and write down the correct answers.

As the winner of the scavenger hunt, I was given an Amazing Race cap and a DVD of The Amazing Race - Season 7, autographed by the host of the show, Phil Koeghan. Of course, as any true race fan knows, having an actual Amazing Race clue envelope and Road Block folder was the real prize! Every time I look at it, it gives me chills and makes me hopeful.

After the presentation, Doug and I spent a few minutes with Elise and Michael (impressing them with tales of my worldwide adventures). We also spent time talking with the ladies who ran the charity event. The ladies invited us to go to dinner with them (Michael and Elise also happened to be going to that dinner). Michael and Elise now know me by name. I can't help but hope this will help to get Julie and me an in-person audition. The stars have aligned for the audition video, the charity event, the game and the dinner, so why not for The Amazing Race!