Updated 3-3-08: Two unexpected guests showed up on the show last night. First, Specialist Michael Lucas was flown home from Iraq to spend a week with his family in December when the show was taped. That was a huge surprise to family and friends.
Then, after "Extreme Makeover" had sent the Lucas family to Disney World, they returned to the National Armory in Farmville. While standing in the parking lot with Ty, a brand new Ford pickup truck pulled up and out stepped country singer Toby Keith who presented the truck to the Lucas family, compliments of Ford. (He is a spokesman for them.)
After that shock wore off, they all went inside the Armory where a stage had been set up with a huge American flag as a backdrop. The place was filled with National Guardsmen and their families for a concert by Toby who sang "American Soldier." There was not a dry eye in the place. It was fantastic and what a great thing for Toby Keith to do. He has been a supporter of our military since Day One of this war on terrorism.
The show built an 1800s-era house for the history buff who is a Civil War reenactor in that area of Virginia that is very near Appomattox, the site of the official ending of the Civil War. Specialist Lucas reenacts as a Union soldier and collects artifacts so those were showcased in a small museum/office behind the house. The house was decorated in period furnishings with the exception of the bedrooms for the two sons, one who is autistic.
I do not often watch "Home Makeover" but this one and the one last week with the wounded warrior -- the Marine who had lost a leg in Iraq -- were definitely worth watching. It is wonderful to see our military being recognized and thanked ... both shows brought tears to the eyes of the designers as well as volunteers who said they wanted to be a part of helping to thank these men for their service to our country and their willingness to protect our freedoms.
Ty Pennington brought his extreme home makeover show to central Virginia to help one of our Virginia National Guard heroes who is currently deployed to Iraq. The show will broadcast tonight. As reported in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
The episode of ABC television's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" featuring a Farmville-area family will air tomorrow night.Last week they built a house for an Operation Iraqi Freedom Marine, a wounded warrior who has lost a leg in combat. This week they are featuring the house built for a deployed soldier. It is good to see these guys receive some recognition, and good to see them reap the benefits of this show. Tune in Sunday night to see the Lucas family's new home.
The television show features volunteers working around the clock to build a house in a week that would usually take months to construct.
In December, volunteers built a home for Spec. Michael Lucas, 37, a Virginia National Guardsmen, his wife, Jean, 33, and their two sons, Michael Henry, 11, and Joseph, 7.
Background info from Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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