From There to Here: Fifteen Minutes and 3,000 Miles
February 9, 2010 by Amy L. Hatch
Filed under From There To Here, Lifestyle
The Boulevard of Dreams. (Photo by Amy L. Hatch)
By Amy L. Hatch
Yesterday was one of the strangest days of my life.
At 6 a.m. I woke up and watched the sun rise from my hotel room in Los Angeles. In the distance, the famous “Hollywood” sign glowed white, and surprisingly small.
After a quick shower I grabbed my camera and went to shoot photos of the Kodak Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, fitting my own blue suede sneakers into the cement footprints of Cecil B. DeMille.
But it wasn’t for several more hours that I was ready for my close-up.
Some of you may know that I have a super gig going over at ParentDish. Turns out Dr. Phil McGraw himself saw a story I wrote over there, about how a researcher found that Americans have on average of 30 hours of leisure time a week.
The story got moms’ panties in a bunch, and rightly so. But I wrote it and promptly forgot about it, moving on to the next story like I do every day.
Then, last Tuesday afternoon (and just before Laura and I left for Nashville) I got a phone call from my editor there, who asked me to get on a plane to LA: Dr. Phil wanted me to be on his panel of experts for an episode about moms and their so-called leisure time.
A flurry of travel arrangements and phone calls with producers led me to me sitting on stage at Paramount Studios yesterday, at precisely 12 noon, PST.
It was, in a word, wild. Less than 24 hours in California. An hour on stage with three comedians and the researcher who caused all the ruckus in the first place. Then into a limo and back on a plane, winging my way East to the snowstorm of the century.
What did I learn during my 15 minutes of fame this week? One, I am not as funny as I think I am. Two, the green room is neither green nor a room. Three, there really are people who think everyone is “great!” and they are all in the TV talk-show business. Four, only “talent” gets flowers in their dressing rooms; “experts” do not.
Most of all, I learned that being away from my home and my family for five days isn’t all it is cracked up to be. I had lots and lots of time to myself. I had lots and lots of fun with friends new and old. I had lots and lots of adult beverages and amazing conversation.
But I missed my family so much that it hurt.
LA, you can keep your sunshine and your TV studios. I’d rather be shivering in the snow in Chambana, where my heart is.
Amy L. Hatch is a co-founder of chambanamoms.com, and she strongly suspects she will not be asked back to the Dr. Phil show. She writes “From There to Here,” a column about being a Northeastern girl on the prairie, on Tuesdays. You can reach her at amy@chambanamoms.com.
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Any idea when the episode will air?
Nope. Still don’t know. But when I do, I will be sure to share it with you!