Cindy Downes

Aug. 30, 2007 - Empty Nest Mom on Good Morning America . . .

Yesterday was a red-letter day for Empty Nest Mom. At 5:45 a.m., the producer (Holly Sweet) and the video crew for a segment on Good Morning America showed up at my door and proceeded to follow me around all day! The feature will air on September 7th on ABC's Good Morning America. Check your TV listings for time. (They did tell me that because it is a "feature," it would be the first thing dropped in event of a big news story; therefore, I should continue watching until it comes on. Sometimes it takes weeks and in rare cases, even dropped totally.)

So how did I get this "movie star" treatment? Ladies Home Journal and Good Morning America were cooperating in a effort to do a story on the increasing number of boomer women who are going back to college. In the process of researching, they ran across my blog, "Empty Nest Mom Goes to College."

I was contacted by email several weeks ago and interviewed over the phone. I had a delightful talk with Emily Bond and Lorraine Glennon of Ladies Home Journal, but it appeared that I did not quite fit the criteria that the company had decided on - a boomer woman who had one career and later went back to college to retrain for another. I prompted forgot about it and continued my busy life.

Then, on Tuesday am (Aug 28), I received a phone call from Maureen White, a producer for ABC. She explained that they had decided my story was one of the ones that they wanted to tell. She went on to explain how they would follow me around on campus all day and do a sit-down interview. Then came the bombshell - they were coming tomorrow (Wednesday-Aug 29)! As you can imagine, I had very little sleep on Tuesday night!

So, at 5:45 a.m., August 29, my "claim to fame" began. Holly first explained how the day would work then I was wired for sound. They videotaped me eating breakfast, packing my books, driving to college, walking on campus, studying in the library, and in my classrooms. They interviewed my classmates and "listened in" while three of us chatted over lunch. We drove over to OSU-Tulsa and did the "sit-down" interview.

At the end of the day, they even followed me to Panera Bread on 15th & Utica, where I met up with my daughter, Shelly, to discuss our day at school.

It was a long, tiring day but very fun! The ABC crew was wonderful - they were friendly and easy to work with. I can't say enough about how much they made the day one I will never forget. If you are interested and get a chance, be sure to tune in to see how it turned out.

Aug. 30, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by drewsfamilytx

Congrats!!! That is very exciting!

I don't think I could handle it. Being on tv makes me physically ill. Blech! But I *love* to see my friends on it... even if I only know you from your blog and avatar. :-)

I hope it gets aired soon and that you're able to record it-- that would be quite the keepsake!

Marsha

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Sep. 5, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by TC

Well, I came over here to tell you that I tagged you, but it looks like you've got much bigger things to do than a silly old tag! :)

Isn't it amazing where blogging can take a person?!

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