However They Did It, Keep It Up!

Last night I intended to go to bed early. That was thwarted by the airing of a special "How'd They Do That?" episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition which only served to reinforce my view of it as the best weekly show on TV right now. Getting to see behind the scenes, and observe the interaction between the cast and volunteers, was very heartening. The cast members seem genuine, and while their personalities can grate on rare occasions, their compassion far outweighs that.

And the volunteers are amazing. Police, firefighters, and construction workers are the most common volunteers. They interviewed one member of the production crew who started as a volunteer whgen they were in Watts, and is now a paid crewman. He left behind a life of drugs and gang violence. Nothing helps you help yourself like helping others.

But last night the volunteer who touched me most was the young soldier who spent all night helping, and was still there the next morning, less than 24 hours before he was due to deploy to Afghanistan. His last two days of regular life, and he was spending them on a construction site. This is the kind of youth defending us, folks. No honor you pay them can ever be misspent.

Weren't You Ready for Some Football?

Watched the MNF game between the Packers and the Rams last night. I was happy for Bret Favre, but the outcome of the game was bittersweet for me. It helped one team I root for (the Seahawks), and hurt another (the Vikings) -- both of whom have former Ducks on them, and both of whom were sitting in first place in their divisions. The Seahawks are now alone in first, the Vikings now trail the Packers by the tiebreaker. But I do favor the Hawks slightly, so it was ok in the end (not that I had a lot of say about it).

Next Monday Night will be a true test of my emotions. A team I used to revere, the Cowboys (until they plunged a dagger in Landry's heart and then went from being America's Team to Vegas' Team), will be playing in Seattle. Am I really over them? Will I root for the Hawks? I think so, but we'll see.

One last observation about last night: Are there really THAT many hunters and/or highway crew workers in Green Bay? Safety Orange was as prevalent in the crowd as was the home team's green and gold. Maybe a Wisconsinite out there can explain.