I love the show...really, I do...but, after having "Extreme Makeover" in our town for a week, I'm kinda glad it's over.
And...I don't want you to think that this show doesn't do extremely GREAT things for people who are highly deserving....that's not it at all...but this BIG production for our little town has become quite overwhelming for me. And, because this is my blog and because a few of you asked for "my story", I'm going to tell you, straight up, how this past week went with "Extreme Makeover" in Ottawa, KS.
Let me start out by saying...our little town (of around 13,500 people) really stepped up last week. How many of you knew that EVERYTHING for the homes are donated? From the concrete to the landscaping to the dog fountains in the back, every single nail, screw, and paint brush was donated. Not to mention the hours that various workers spent out at the house building, sheet rocking, framing, painting, doing stone work, landscaping, installing the pool, etc...all of that was donated as well. I guess that every time I watched the show, I never thought about how they actually got everything for the house.
Here's what they do. They announced that Extreme Makeover was coming to North East Kansas, but they couldn't say where. They asked for specialized workers and donations of all kinds (even Walmart gift cards) so that they could complete the home. When they finally reveal the family, they keep on asking....and, when the time comes for certain items that haven't been donated yet, they rush out to local businesses to try and fulfill their need by requesting a last-minute donation. Pretty crazy if you ask me....especially for our small community.
Our community rallied though and joined forces to with the construction company and other contractors, to get the house built. And, the only 'real' part of this show is that they DO build the houses in 7 days. Now, I was only out there working for about 7 hours....and in that 7 hours I had the opportunity to be in a scene with Paul. This is the only time I saw any of the 'celebrities' that you see on TV throughout that day. Here's how that went:
Myself and 5 other girls were in the volunteer tent, taking a break after just completing our last task. One of the producers came to the tent and said he needed 5 or 6 volunteers to be in a scene with Pauly....of course we said yes! So, we went to back yard where the concrete workers were making a patio. Here's what the producer said: "You are going to be in this area, pretending to do concrete work. Pauly is going to come out and drive this Gator up from back there. He will say something to you and then you'll help him unload these sprinklers from the back of the Gator. After that, you'll continue on like you're working on the concrete."
Seriously?! He told us to pretend like we were doing concrete work?? It was bizarre! The only fun thing about that 'scene' was that Pauly was, in reality, a very nice person. Very down to earth and friendly...but, do the 'celebrities' of the show actually do any of the work?
The same night that we volunteered, we decided to go to the BBQ fund raiser for this family's house maintenance fund. And, this is where I was most amazed. I saw people at that BBQ that you would never expect to be in support of any worthy cause, but I realized that they were probably there to see someone famous...maybe get on TV. It's sad. It makes me sad to think that this is the reason people would support something. One of my friends (who happens to be the chair of Habitat for Humanity) put it nicely by saying (not quoted): I believe this is wonderful for this Ottawa family and I am in full support of what Extreme Makeover is doing, but please remember that, through Habitat for Humanity, we build around 4 houses per year for Ottawa families.
Well said.
My hope is that the 3000 people who volunteered for EMHE remember the kindness they felt after volunteering and they decide to carry that on to help Habitat for Humanity...we will see.
The most fascinating part of this whole experience, to me, was to go out every evening and see the progress made on the home. And my favorite memory of this is from the night before the house was to be revealed when Paul and Glen Close came out to talk to the small crowd of spectators. They were both very genuine people and that is when Parker and his buddies got their photo op with Paul. They were so excited about that and the little boys truly loved watching the house being built.
Let's fast-forward to the night of the reveal to the family. So, it's one of the hottest days of the year, and it's time for the family to see the home for the first time. We weren't going to go, but my mom volunteered to watch Andrew so we could take Parker out to see the house. Parker was excited- he kept saying that he wanted to see the family. It was very sweet.
Rumor had it that the house would be revealed around 7 pm. We got out there around 6:00 pm. It was hot, it was miserable, and it felt like no one knew exactly what was going on. We were in the section of the spectators that was right in front of the bus and it was crazy. The people were crazy (all for the chance of having two seconds on TV), the heat was extreme, and it all felt a little fake to me.
The worst part was that they kept doing take, after take, after take of the crowd cheering....the crowd being silent for the disabled member of the family, the crowd waving, etc. So, when you see the crowd of people cheering on the family....ask yourself, "Is the family really there?" It was not real. They even filmed Ty running out of the house to greet the family, before the family even got there. They pulled stand ins out of the crowd to make it look like the family was in the limo, they had the producer walk in front of the crowd and told us all to pretend like he was the limo- and God forbid someone look at the camera! LOL!
Maybe it's because I'm not used to the whole acting scene or maybe it's because I was silly enough to believe that everything in reality TV is real, but the entirety of this show seemed like just that....a show. Putting on a show and not really caring about the outcome or the future of this community or the wonderful family with this new home.
But, it was fun....it was extreme...and it's something our community will never forget.
And, now that I've written way too much about this experience (and I wasn't even that involved with it), here are a couple articles from the Ottawa Herald that may make you feel better about everything this family will get from 'winning' this EM home.
The EMHE Reveal
What's Next for the Family
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