Extreme Makeover

I spent the past 20 minutes in sob-out-loud-let-the-snot-flow crying. Extreme Makeover on ABC just remodeled the house of a couple who are deaf, who have a young blind, austistic son, and a teenaged boy who is often his parents' ears and his brother's eyes.

Can you blame me for the tears?

I'm don't watch reality TV for the most part. The closest I get is the Food Network and HGTV. I figure I have a better chance of creating a meal in 30 minutes or adding a little BAM to my menu than I do of ever running into an Apprentice, finding a Survivor, or catching up with a Bachelor. The truth is that I know enough about film-making to know that reality has little or nothing to do with these things. And I have plenty of my own "real life" drama and therefore no need to set through the tensions, conflicts, etc. of complete strangers.

But I came home early tonight, completed all my exercise plan earlier in the day and well . . . just got sucked into that cute carpenter guy with his bullhorn and abundance of enthusiasm. Of course, I soon discovered that this program was more than the usual good vibe show.

Seeing that child who spends most of his time in his own world taking EXTREME pleasure in his new swingset, complete with tinkling wind chimes nearby. My God, what a site! And seeing the father signing into the palm of his blind son -- think Helen Keller movie -- well, again, EXTREME overload.

I love that there is actually a show about helping people. Sure, there's a lot of money involved and money can't buy happiness. But from what I could tell this family had happiness. What they needed was a few electronic devices and some peace of mind.

I for one, sniff, sniff, sniff . . . am glad they got it!