'Web Cam 101 For Seniors' Turns Oregon Oldsters Into YouTube Celebrities
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A couple from northwestern Oregon who are Internet newbies have found themselves the unwitting subjects of an instant viral video, thanks to a little help from a grandkid.
Bruce Huffman, 86, and his wife, Esther, 79, of the Hillside Retirement Community in McMinnville, recently purchased their first laptop computer –- an aqua colored beauty with a built-in webcam.
Late last month, the couple sat down together and tried to figure out how to make a video with the webcam, something a granddaughter had painstakingly attempted to teach Esther a few days beforehand.
"I was trying to figure out how to do the videos and didn't know the thing was actually running," Esther told The Huffington Post. "All the while, Bruce was kind of amusing himself because he was bored. He was being quite an actor."
The nearly three minute video captures Bruce making funny faces, singing, burping and at one point, during a moment of levity, he got a little flirtatious with his wife. "See how pretty your hair is?" he said. "Just drop your dress a little bit and see your boobies."
Esther, focused on the task at hand, shot down the request. "Come on stop it. No, no, no," she laughed.
When the couple's granddaughter later saw the video, she titled it "Web Cam 101 for Seniors" and uploaded it on YouTube.
"I did not know anything about YouTube, but apparently, it is spreading like wildfire," Esther said.
While the accidental celebrities are surprised by the amount of attention the video is garnering, they said they are happy that people are enjoying it.
"We certainly didn't plan it, but there is so much bad news out there. We are glad we could put something fun out there. We like to have a good time and if it makes people laugh, that's ok," Esther said.
There is, however, one thing she would change going back.
"I wouldn't have looked that way," she said. "I guess I have to quit chewing gum. I look like a cow chewing gum so quickly."
While their candid video is endearing the modest couple to the World Wide Web, they have no immediate plans of making another video.
"We're still trying to figure out how to work it," Bruce said. "But we're having fun trying."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story erroneously located McMinnville in northeastern, rather than northwestern, Oregon.
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First Posted: 09/14/11 02:12 PM ET Updated: 11/14/11 05:12 AM ET