Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Ooooo! So Exciting For The Neighborhood!!

      If you're a fan of the show, 'Extreme Makeover-Home Edition', then you already recognize the man with the notorious megaphone! ^_^ It's Ty Pennington.
       I feel like I've known Ty personally for a long time, which, of course, I haven't...*snapping my finger*...He's from my home state of Georgia though, and I've been watching him on T.V. for quite a while...starting with the show that was on TLC, 'Trading Spaces'. (Some of you may know him from a show called 'Ty's Great British Adventure', which airs on UKTV in the UK.)  But does being from the same state and watching someone on T.V. count as 'knowing' someone?! ^_^
     Anyway!...'Extreme Makeover-Home Edition' is a show that finds deserving families whose homes, for one reason or another, are no longer good places to live...usually the homes are in 'really' bad shape!...and they send the family away on a vacation for a week, and makeover, or completely re-build, their home!
     Why am I telling you all of this?....Because Ty Pennington, the team of designers, and the Extreme Makeover crew are...right now!...in my dad's city, Springfield Massachusetts...in fact, a block and a half away!...building a house for the Walker Family!! :-]
     About two and a half years ago single mom Sirdeaner Walker lost her 11 year old son, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover. He took his own life after almost a year of telling his mother about the many incidents of kids bullying him at school. The family still hasn't been able to return to normal since the incident, but they've focused their energy on helping others.
     This is a clip from the Dr. Phil show, about a year after the tragic event, where the mom recounts what happened...

    It's such a sad story. I remember when this originally happened. It was like someone threw a rock and hit the whole town in the head with it. :-( And even sadder, the family has been living in that 100 year old house since then...not able to go up to the third floor (where the suicide was committed).
       Sirdeaner and her two children sleep in the living room on a couch and two roll-away beds. And their grandmother lives there too. They've had to store their clothes and daily belongings in plastic containers and bags, leaving the whole place cramped and cluttered.
      But this week...things will change for them. :-) While they're on a dream vacation to Hollywood...Hey! We just got back from there!! They'll have a 'ball'!! ^_^...the house is being completely rebuilt!!
       Hubby went over and parked his car at my dad's and walked over to the site to get a few pictures for me to show you!! :-)
         Ty Pennington was out there in his checkered flannel shirt and jeans, along with the crew in their blue 'Extreme Makeover' T-shirts...
       ...but otherwise hubby says there's not much else to see! There's no house right now. They tore that down.
       So, I guess until the house starts to go up, there's not much excitement for the average 'Joe'. Unless you wanna go by and volunteer! And if you do, you can go HERE and sign up!...But for my dad's little neighborhood?!...It's all exciting!! It's all everyone is talking about!! They can't wait until the end of the week when they can go out there and whoop and holler and get their moment to say: "MOVE THAT BUS!!!" LOL
       Hubby will be looking forward to that too! But yesterday, with nothing but dirt and a flannel-shirted Ty to take photographs of, this sign was much more interesting to him...
        It's 'Slices' or 'Paramount Pizza' (they changed their name to 'Slices')!! ^_^ Hubby walked in there, told them he wanted a sausage pasta and cheese dish, and asked them to "MOVE THAT ORDER!" ^_^
     This guy knows hubby so well that he just thought he was funny. Did I, on the other hand, think it was funny that he was taking so long to get back?!...Not so much!! Grrr!...I'm starting to notice that my hormones and my lack of memory are taking away my patient, pleasing personality a bit!! ^_^ Time to find me some kinda supplements,...patience in a bottle,...to take for that!
      Thankfully hubby has enough patience for the both of us right now, and he remembers my 'other' pleasant personality enough not to take this 'impatient, getting older, girl' too seriously. :-] One day...One day...I'm going to go back to normal!!!! (Whatever 'normal' is!! LOL)
      Okay, off to get my day started! Have an 'Extremely' good day everybody!!! :-)


Everything Is Getting Older

Everything is getting older,
past it's time, and rusting fast!
No matter how many times you oil it,
Somehow, still, it doesn't last.

Everything is getting older.
Even veggies just from the store,
have now browned and withered up.
They're not all shiny like before.

Everything is getting older.
Old dogs included, people too.
Even babies, from the womb,
start getting older, just past brand new!

Everything is getting older,
like real good books, with tales all told.
But, Wait a minute! Some books are good!
That's why "To read" will not get old.

Everything that's getting older
doesn't harm us and displease.
Just think of wisdom in the aging-
that's with people and with cheese!

All the things, those getting older,
showing marks and scars of time,
just need a tad bit more attention,
or just a small aged glass of wine!

24 comments:

  1. Oh...such an awful story...poor them...
    And I love Ty too so it's a wonderful ending...and I hope they can start living again.
    wow...
    Have a good day Deb,beautiful words as always,
    Char.x

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  2. Deb, such a tragic story. Now hopefully they can move on and find the new house comforting. Love watching Extreme make over and Ty. Last week they were in Medford OR doing their thing and I know the family that they did the house for. Several of our friends went and volunteered I wish I would have been there you know me I would have volunteered. Great poem today. Have a great day!!!!!!

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  3. If you ever find 'patience in a bottle' let me know! Or better yet, let's sell it.
    Such a tragic story, but how amazing to see that there are some that still make efforts to help their fellow man/woman.


    Lisa

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  4. We Blog Artists, It's an awful story, but hopefully their story is on an upswing now. I can't wait to see the whole story, and the finished interior of the house when it airs...And thank you for the nice comment too. Have a good day Char! :-]

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  5. SnowflakeDreams1, How nice that you got to volunteer already at an extreme makeover build!! I sure wish I could go over and haul a brick or a wheel-barrel or two! LOL I don't know the family personally, but my dad might. I know everyone pretty much knew her son that died...It'll be nice to see things looking up for them...By the way, thank you so much for the nice words about the poem. :-) Have a good rest of the day, Velma.

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  6. Lisa, You're so right about some people getting out there and trying to help. In fact, it's one of the reasons I was attracted to Jehovah's Witnesses. It's one thing to say you care. It's another issue all together to use your time to show it!...And Ha! Ha! I can always count on you to make me laugh!...'Patience in a bottle' could be a best seller among the hot, (not in a good way) and over 50, crowd!! ^_^ We probably wouldn't sell much of it though. The sellers would probably be hording it for the unexpected!! LOL Have a good rest of the day, Lisa. Stay cool...and stay patient! ^_^

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  7. It is all very exciting and this family sure deserves a break. I just hope that they don't have the plight of so many other families who got homes they couldn't afford to keep or maintain. It is my biggest gripe about this show. It's too over the top.

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  8. Deb, Sorry for the misunderstanding I did not work on the house that they just did in Medford. Some of our friends ( Kyle, Susanna, and Brianne)volunteered and got to work on it. I do know the family that just got their house done in Medford. If I were still living there I would have gone and volunteered to help. I just had to make sure that credit was given where it was due.

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  9. trusk4u, They 'do' deserve a break!..I haven't heard anything about people not being able to afford their homes! In fact, I thought it was pretty great that usually on the show they pay off the people's mortgages and the sponsors and construction companies get together to give them help for a year or more afterward!! So, what you said is 'news' to me!...I guess I lean toward the course that it's better to try to help people than not anyway...Reminds me of the expression that says: 'No good deed goes unpunished'! And yet, what do you do? Sit around and do nothing because it 'might' turn out bad in the end?!...It's a choice I guess...Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one. And have a good rest of the day too! :-]

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  10. SnowflakeDreams1, Ohhhhh! I see!!! Well, either way...I know where your heart is on this one! :-) You would've been in there working like a fiend if you could I'm sure! :-)

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  11. Wow!! This is exciting news!! She really deserves a new home for sure. What excitement for your dad, the town, for hubby and for you! Glad he got some photos.
    He'll have to keep us up to date on the progress of it.
    Hope you have a great day!

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  12. CinLynn, It sure is, isn't it, Bead?!! I couldn't believe it was this close to us!! There were two others done...one in Connecticut near us, and one in another town here in Massachusetts, that we totally missed. But this time they're right in our backyard...almost 'literally'!! LOL Hubby is gonna be getting progressive photos once the house starts to go up. They put the foundation up today the news said this morning...I hope your day with hubby is going good. Share any experiences please. :-)

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  13. Wow, it's fun to watch so many people helping and see a family that deserves some happiness and healing. Great pics from your hubby! Keep 'em coming!

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  14. yaya, I think so too! Oh if only all of us had the ability to lend that kind of helping hand, huh?! The world could be a much different place. But I know one day it will. :-) By the way, hubby says thanks! He's gonna try to go by occasionally and get a few shots...and then be there for the reveal! Hopefully I'll be able to share it! :-)

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  15. Isn't that great that something good is happening for the Walker family. It sounds like they truly needed something positive right now. It's a shame that this show isn't shown on tv here I would love to see their reactions when they see what's been done for them.

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  16. Jo-anne, When I was doing the blog post I wondered if it was a show that was seen where you live. I disappointed that it's not, but the good thing is that because they show all of their episodes online you might be able to see it there. One of the links above was to the ABC site that shows full episodes of 'Extreme Makeover'. Warning though...you may get hooked! ^_^

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  17. Thanks for that I will have a look later

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  18. That's so wonderful for them!! I've watched the show often, but sometimes it's almost too much for me - makes me so weepy! :) They were here in Savannah last year and then in nearby Beaufort as well. So exciting!! Hope you are doing well, Deb! Love, Silke

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  19. I'm so happy for the family. I'm sure their home will be beautiful!! I really wants to see the result.

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  20. Jo-anne, Be sure and let me know what you think! :-]

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  21. Silke, I watch it every chance I get too! It's one of the nicer shows on TV these days, in my opinion anyway...And yes, I'm 'hanging in there'...the same as everybody else I suspect! :-] I hope you are too!

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  22. Priscila, Yes, me too. Something to smile about for a change, huh?!...I'm excited to see the end result too!

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  23. I love the show. I watch it every Sunday! It's our ritual in fact, to eat pizza and watch the show! How exciting, can't wait to scream MOve that bus!

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  24. Elisa, Ha! Ha! Same here!!...Hubby is hoping to be right there on Sunday morning, yelling "Move That Bus!" ^_^

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