Husband gets call for TV reality show
It’s not everyday that a legitimate television producing company invites ordinary people to audition for a pilot. Actually, it never happens. There is no such thing as ordinary people. C.S. Lewis said it best:
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
That quote came to life for me this weekend.
A number of months ago, my husband was invited to a casting call for a new reality show entitled “Built to Survive” which took place in Atlanta, Ga. this past weekend. After checking the credentials of Raw TV, participating in several Skype interviews via the UK, and finally putting away our initial skepticism and disbelief, here I sit in a hotel room in Georgia on my thirteenth wedding anniversary with a man who’s always been capable of entertaining everyone within earshot.
Raw TV sought out 11 people from around the country with artistic and innovative mechanical abilities to work with them to create a program they are hoping to air on the National Geographic Channel. Men behind the recent hit show “Junkyard Wars” were involved in putting this opportunity together.
My husband, who owns a muscle car performance garage in McClellandtown was chosen to participate as a result of his exceptional and creative work and trade shown on his business’s website. Others who were selected included a tall ship sailor with robotics experience, a mechanical engineer from Alaska, a German automobile shop owner from Long Island, the first all-female hot rod garage owner from Canada, a D.C. cop who races custom builds he creates, a diesel mechanic/shop owner from Chattanooga, Tenn., an off-road builder, a robotics guy from Oakland, a rancher from the California desert and a hot rod shop owner from Atlanta.
Like I said, there are no ordinary people. Because Raw TV was gracious enough to allow me to sit in on the filming, I got to spend the weekend listening to some of the most intelligent and interesting people I’ve ever met exchange ideas, trade philosophies, and discuss life together. I got to witness true thinkers thinking out loud. It was amazing.
Perhaps what stood out the most about these minds was their willingness not only to respect, but to embrace the extreme diversity of one another, treating it as an asset rather than a threat. That’s rare in our culture, but these individuals had it.
I have no idea where the show will go. Who knows if there even will be a show. Either way, it was definitely worth the trip. Number thirteen will be an anniversary to remember. Watching my husband turn junk into a functional machine reminded me of my creator. Watching him zip line and bungee jump reminded me of the summer we fell in love swinging from a rope into Lake Lynn.
Watching him share his faith and honor the Lord makes me proud to be his wife. To some he may seem like an ordinary guy with a blue-collar complete with his name on his shirt, but, TV show or not, anyone who knows Tim Rodeheaver Jr. knows better.
Lori Rodeheaver is a resident of McClellandtown.