Job leads for Elmo’s pink-slipped mommy

Times are tough in the Elmo household. Mrs. Mae Elmo, mother to the beloved, oft-tickled Muppet, is out of work. According to the site Daily Finance, the down-and-out Elmos (is that a last name too?) will be at the center of an upcoming Sesame Street special about the recession’s impact on families, in which they’ll be tightening purse strings and will cut back on luxuries like eating out and going to movies. But Elmo’s mom needn’t be unemployed for long, what with the handful of terrific jobs we found for her on Craigslist today, all a puppet’s hop from the Sesame Street set at the Kaufman-Astoria studios.

Applicants for a part-time pet grooming job must “have good people skills” and “possess a love for animals.” Check and check. Asks another ad:  Can you dance or sing Michael Jackson? We can’t vouch for Mrs. Elmo’s moonwalk, but if her son’s falsetto chords come from her (and we pity the dad if they don’t), then this could be Mae’s chance finally to step out of her son’s shadow. A literary publicist in Park Slope is looking for a mother’s helper. It’s a part-time gig taking care of a baby, performing household tasks and even assisting the publicist, which could clearly lead to bigger things for Mama Elmo (hello best-selling parenting advice book ever!) Here’s an ad seeking diverse looks for an online commercial and photoshoot: They say you can be a tattooed biker, plus-size woman, drag queen or an ultra-masculine black man. They don’t say whether you can have a preponderance of red fur, but Craigslist even has a solution for that.