Aug 25, 2010

Navigating Love

As friends pray for a miracle to save their dad's life, I'm amazed at the strength of their faith. It's made me think about family. Love.

Back when we owned a big, white Buick and no one wore seatbelts, I loved being my dad's navigator on road trips. He'd let me read the map even though I'd sometimes get us lost.

I remember a near-miss one winter. Icy roads. A car plowing through a red light. A thick utility pole. My dad's split-second decision - throwing his body across mine, trying to save me from the impact.

Another memory...one trip where
my dad entrusted me with his big bag of coins for the tolls. Leaning across him, I'd toss our fare into the bucket. 

"Pay the toll," he said at the second plaza.  

"But I paid it last time," I said. 

"What do you mean?'" he demanded. 

"I already paid it," I insisted.

Not knowing the coins were meant to last us through three states, I'd emptied the bag into the first toll without him noticing.  My dad dug out his wallet to pay the fare.

I eventually grew up, bought my own car, moved cross country to work in TV.  Family took a backseat to career.  Dad and I struggled to navigate love far apart.

One foggy day, a near miss. A car swerves into my lane. I pull over, shaken. A memory from years ago. Icy roads. A utility pole. My father shielding my body with his. 

"Your dad would do the same thing all over again," I sensed God saying.

Our car had stopped inches from the pole that day when my dad had been willing to sacrifice his life for mine. Pain and distance melted away. I was again navigating safely at my father's side.

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Aug 3, 2010

The One That Got Away

Ty Penning, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Photo:  Getty Images
Lately I've been thinking about the one that got awayNot a man.  The Dream Job.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was holding an international search for a new designer. Some of you know my passion for architecture and design. I've studied the trade since writing an interior design newspaper column and eventually earned my General Contractor's license.


I decided to send the casting director my materials even though I'd be up again some of the most talented designers in the world. I was stunned to get called in to audition out of thousands of hopefuls. 

I drove to the studio early the day of the audition so that I'd have time to freshen up; make sure I didn't have toilet paper stuck to my shoe.  

The director conducted an interview-style audition, judging personality and skill. That type of tryout can be challenging since there is no scripted dialogue to help guide the audition but after years of ad-libbing breaking news live shots, I was in my element. 

I got a call-back.

Then the door suddenly closed.  The star host's arrest for DUI put the search on hold. Indefinitely. Ty Pennington quickly apologized with the show's future was in jeopardy. 

So that's the one that got away. And, like all first loves, you never forget.


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