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Fame Comes Calling and We Answer
If you want to pinpoint the moment at which you first realized that my son, Aidan, 5, was going to be a global phenom, it is right now, in this blog. If you also want to mark the moment at which you came to fully grasp the reality that I have absolutely no charisma or talent, it's here, too.
On a recent trip to Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum for a press preview of their theater program, my family (myself, wife Wendy and offspring Aidan) were asked by a local news crew to appear before the camera. I knew a few things right off the bat: Aidan would say "yes," but would then hide behind me, only to be lured back to the camera after much cajoling and manipulation; my wife would NOT want to appear on camera and would shoot me a terrified, debilitating and vicious glare; and I would spend the entire segment wondering how my advanced age and weight gain would translate to TV - especially in a high-def world.
I nailed all three.
Joey Fortman, the reporter from MyPHL-17's morning show "Better Philly" (and the new afternoon drive host on 97.5fm), approached us kindly and asked us a series of innocent questions, which we appreciated considering Aidan is just in preschool. Fun and comfortable, we answered easily. Then we did it again. And again. And again. And again. They needed several takes to make sure Aidan's quiet voice and "deer caught in headlights" look would register well. That and I think they were a little terrified of the fat, ancient geezer sitting to his left.
And even though I pursued Joey (as well as Please Touch's Frank Luzi) to nail down a broadcast time and whether Aidan would even appear in the piece, we dropped all discussion of it at home. You just don't want to tell a kid he might be on TV more than 3 seconds before the show airs. I could imagine the 135 million times I'd hear "When is it going to be on?" Wouldn't that be fun? Kill me.
When the show aired, I just switched on the TV and Aidan and I watched. He was excited because it was about Please Touch, and he loved seeing the areas and people from the museum he recognized. When he came onscreen, he just sat there for a second without any glimmer of recognition. And then he exploded in joy, screaming, "I'm on TV," before running and jumping around the house and pretty much missing the whole part where he appeared.
So here we are, mere hours after this magical moment happened. Needless to say, I have not been approached by any directors, producers or groupies. I haven't assembled a posse. I have turned away a few autographs, but they were all from sarcastic coworkers. I am starting to think I am not experiencing a life-changing moment.
The one thing I did come to understand is that - even though a kid can have his picture in an award-winning parenting publication every month - there is nothing like seeing yourself on TV. Besides, being dad's magazine is normal, but being on "Better Philly," that is the stuff of legends!
To see the piece, click on the link. (Just look for us about 1:30 into it) http://www.myphl17.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=158bd089-1a74-47a8-9769-705649d708ef&src=front
On a recent trip to Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum for a press preview of their theater program, my family (myself, wife Wendy and offspring Aidan) were asked by a local news crew to appear before the camera. I knew a few things right off the bat: Aidan would say "yes," but would then hide behind me, only to be lured back to the camera after much cajoling and manipulation; my wife would NOT want to appear on camera and would shoot me a terrified, debilitating and vicious glare; and I would spend the entire segment wondering how my advanced age and weight gain would translate to TV - especially in a high-def world.
I nailed all three.
Joey Fortman, the reporter from MyPHL-17's morning show "Better Philly" (and the new afternoon drive host on 97.5fm), approached us kindly and asked us a series of innocent questions, which we appreciated considering Aidan is just in preschool. Fun and comfortable, we answered easily. Then we did it again. And again. And again. And again. They needed several takes to make sure Aidan's quiet voice and "deer caught in headlights" look would register well. That and I think they were a little terrified of the fat, ancient geezer sitting to his left.
And even though I pursued Joey (as well as Please Touch's Frank Luzi) to nail down a broadcast time and whether Aidan would even appear in the piece, we dropped all discussion of it at home. You just don't want to tell a kid he might be on TV more than 3 seconds before the show airs. I could imagine the 135 million times I'd hear "When is it going to be on?" Wouldn't that be fun? Kill me.
When the show aired, I just switched on the TV and Aidan and I watched. He was excited because it was about Please Touch, and he loved seeing the areas and people from the museum he recognized. When he came onscreen, he just sat there for a second without any glimmer of recognition. And then he exploded in joy, screaming, "I'm on TV," before running and jumping around the house and pretty much missing the whole part where he appeared.
So here we are, mere hours after this magical moment happened. Needless to say, I have not been approached by any directors, producers or groupies. I haven't assembled a posse. I have turned away a few autographs, but they were all from sarcastic coworkers. I am starting to think I am not experiencing a life-changing moment.
The one thing I did come to understand is that - even though a kid can have his picture in an award-winning parenting publication every month - there is nothing like seeing yourself on TV. Besides, being dad's magazine is normal, but being on "Better Philly," that is the stuff of legends!
To see the piece, click on the link. (Just look for us about 1:30 into it) http://www.myphl17.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=158bd089-1a74-47a8-9769-705649d708ef&src=front
Labels: aidan, Better Philly MyPHL17, Frank Luzi, Joey Fortman, Please Touch Museum
posted by Daniel Sean Kaye at
12:04 PM
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