Two Houses

So we watched two different "reality" television shows last night: Big Brother 8 and Extreme Home Makeover.

Each was an hour long but the events shown in that hour and the impact of those events is completely different.

On Big Brother 8, the housemates sat around lazily, only caring about themselves and how to make sure they stay in the Big Brother House as long as possible. Each person is out for himself or herself and will stab anyone in the back as long as it means they will get someone else kicked out. They have "alliances" which are flimsy at best and the greatest consequence was having to eat "Big Brother Slop" for a week.

Switch to Extreme Home Makeover. We have not watched this show in over a year because it makes us cry too much and last night was no exception. The family was a grandmother and her daughter's four children. She was keeping the children, ranging in age from 5 to 10, because her daughter wasn't able to care for them properly. They lived in a two bedroom trailer and one of the windows was held on by duct tape.

So Ty and his crew show up and send them off to Disney World, and proceed to create this house for the family. They did the five bedrooms in a way that each individual would love and appreciate. They made a study area with lots of books and gave them four laptops for the kids. They gave them a sweet play area in the back yard with a basketball court, swing set and slide.

They gave them a nest egg they raised from a concert to help with upkeep of the new house, and they gave them college scholarships for all four kids. I just loved seeing this grandma who was down and out, with no hope of lifting herself up, get a chance like this to make a better life for these kids.

I'm glad there are people in this world who are willing to use their financial resources to help others like this, and I hope they find a way to keep doing it, whether it's televised or not.