Trentovation

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 34

At the end of 2013, glorious things were popping off in my head. And I should take time to share them. Otherwise, this story will read as if I’m just being overly hard on myself, wallowing too much in hindsight self-pity.

Quickly, and by most accounts suddenly in those days, there was a lot to think through and knock out. Beyond feelings of overwhelm or hesitation, I was grateful, excited about the unknown possibilities ahead. I was full of hope and positivity. And who wouldn’t be? In the matter of a few short months, I’d been contacted by HGTV/DIY, filmed a test reel, and done enough to have a programmer call me up and tell me they were going to put me on TV.

The idea of renovating the Summerville, South Carolina house in three months was outrageous. And yet, the production company was behind Rehab Addict, and I felt obliged to lower my guard and hand over the benefit of any doubt I held. I wanted to do whatever I could to help clear a path toward this ambitious objective.

Berchador is an underused term for the triad of counties where I’ve lived and worked since 1999. I like using the archaic name because it says what I need it to in nine letters, rather than typing out all three counties—Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester. Plus, it just seems to flow better and make more sense than me saying “the greater Charleston area.”

If a designated capital existed for this tri-county region, it should be Summerville, the community where my next project was, since this small city’s residents are spread out and into all of these counties. And if this undesignated region had one day, that was singled out above and beyond the other 364, it would be the last-of-March/first-of-April Saturday each year. On this weekend, the area’s azaleas are in full bloom, the town of Summerville is in the midst of its annual Flowertown Festival, and Mt. Pleasant and Charleston team up to host the Cooper River Bridge Run. Berchador Day is not a real thing, but if it was, it would be this day each spring.

I couldn’t imagine better timing, on this major weekend, with HGTV producers imbedded for my project house with nowhere to go but up. At the Flower Town in the Pines, vendors, crafty people, and tourists from all over the southeast have made this event the state’s top festival each year. And on that Saturday morning is the annual 10K race, one of the largest in the country.

Would producers want me to run amongst the thousands crossing under and through the diamond arches of the Ravenel Bridge? I’d done it before and would enjoy jogging along again, this time for the cameras. I also wondered if they might film me walking the historic streets of Summerville with bright colorful flowers dotting each scene. And the blocked off main streets of the town, amongst the sea of white vendor tents clogged with locals and visitors, would be a tasty nugget to drop into the story of the project.

There wouldn’t be much time for these extras, but I imagined a few moments within the electric environments would be worthy of consideration, experiences the film crews would appreciate and enjoy, and worth the added effort needed by the production team.

Along with all the other good news, his providential timing was another thing to be thankful for. And the glare created by this gratefulness blinded me to things I should have been seeing and doing.