Sunday night at 8 o’clock, 7 o’clock Central, a special edition of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” airs featuring the Hurston family. Why is it special? Simple, I helped build the house.
Okay, okay. I didn’t actually contribute to the physical construction of the building. Minor detail. I merely spent one shift volunteering and I can honestly say it was one of the best days I’ve ever spent almost breaking my back. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I should probably start at the beginning.
Last December an article ran in Florida Today announcing the show’s up and coming arrival to the Space Coast and hunt for local skilled and unskilled volunteers. After reading the paper two thoughts came to mind: (1) I can do that and (2) Does that mean I might end up on TV? Yikes.
Last December an article ran in Florida Today announcing the show’s up and coming arrival to the Space Coast and hunt for local skilled and unskilled volunteers. After reading the paper two thoughts came to mind: (1) I can do that and (2) Does that mean I might end up on TV? Yikes.
Stage fright aside, I went to the website given in the article and signed my ‘unskilled’ self up for a shift. Then I waited and waited for my confirmation email. Turns out coordinating an effort such as, oh, building a house in seven days is kind of a like setting up an elaborate domino design so everything can fall precisely on queue. It takes loads of time to organize. Finally the email arrived in my inbox with the date, time, and location making me feel like I was entrusted with some secret mission.
On my assigned morning I got up before even the most enthusiastic barista. I drove up to Cocoa, past the check-in site and then found again, signed some forms, put on my snazzy new XL blue volunteer’s shirt and waited for the bus, hard-hat in hand, to take us to the build site. I had no clue what was awaiting me. The bus was clean so I took that as a good sign.
On my assigned morning I got up before even the most enthusiastic barista. I drove up to Cocoa, past the check-in site and then found again, signed some forms, put on my snazzy new XL blue volunteer’s shirt and waited for the bus, hard-hat in hand, to take us to the build site. I had no clue what was awaiting me. The bus was clean so I took that as a good sign.
After a short bus ride through a maze of streets with the occasional house featuring a couple of horses in the back yard we got there and get to work. For six hours I unloaded scaffolding, relocated lumber and hauled away about 8,000,000 pounds of garbage from in and around the house. At some point I forgot all about the cameras.
Exhausted and desperate for a big juicy cheese burger I finished spilling sawdust all over myself and walked over to the catering tent. Sadly there were no cheese burgers. But the chicken was yummy and the rice was the best I’ve tasted. I sat outside to eat in the shade when I looked around and realized I was picnicking in the middle of a film set.
On television “Extreme Makeover” never accurately demonstrates to their viewers what a huge sacrifice filming has on the neighborhood. Down the street catering tents are pitched on someone’s front lawn. Another generous family transformed their yard into some kind of RV lot. It’s like walking out your front door and onto the set of “Desperate Housewives”. Nevertheless, it’s only for a week and grass grows back.
On my way home I contemplated how I spent my day. At first it didn’t seem like such a big deal. All I did was dump discarded drywall into a colossal dumpster until it reached maximum capacity and avoided using a Port-O-Potty. When I thought about what we did as a team, however, I got a little choked up.
Thousands of people came out over the course of a week, not just to make a TV show, but to change the lives of a deserving family. I’ve never met the Hurstons and I gather most of the volunteers were in the same boat. We were all just cogs in the machine. Some of us played bigger parts than others but we got the job done. And, I believe, ahead of schedule.
On television “Extreme Makeover” never accurately demonstrates to their viewers what a huge sacrifice filming has on the neighborhood. Down the street catering tents are pitched on someone’s front lawn. Another generous family transformed their yard into some kind of RV lot. It’s like walking out your front door and onto the set of “Desperate Housewives”. Nevertheless, it’s only for a week and grass grows back.
On my way home I contemplated how I spent my day. At first it didn’t seem like such a big deal. All I did was dump discarded drywall into a colossal dumpster until it reached maximum capacity and avoided using a Port-O-Potty. When I thought about what we did as a team, however, I got a little choked up.
Thousands of people came out over the course of a week, not just to make a TV show, but to change the lives of a deserving family. I’ve never met the Hurstons and I gather most of the volunteers were in the same boat. We were all just cogs in the machine. Some of us played bigger parts than others but we got the job done. And, I believe, ahead of schedule.
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