what's newsy?

Last Wednesday was one of our usual produce co-op days.
Only last Wednesday wasn't completely usual, as Tracy had let us know the delivery/sorting/pick-up time needed to be moved earlier... because a channel 5 news reporter was coming to do a story on our local co-op!

I normally go over and help sort produce when I look out my window and see Tracy with a shortage of hands. Most of the ladies (and men sometimes) take turns helping unload and sort out the produce each week, sometimes I look out and there are as many as 10 people over there running around the driveway and what seems like a million kids running around in the backyard. More often than not, it is a great group effort and it all goes really fast.

With the early afternoon sorting time, and a chance for your very own fifteen seconds
of fame with the news crew there this week, I thought there would be plenty of helping hands and I really didn't expect she'd need me over there.

But when I looked out across the street after the truck pulled away from the delivery I realized there were was no one helping her... only Tracy's mom and her sister. Who aren't even in our co-op! They were supposed to be there to help keep the kids out of the way so Tracy could talk to the reporter!!

I so didn't want to be on camera, but what could I do... it was so hot and humid, there was a storm on it's way in, and there was what seemed like a million tons of produce to divy up between 56 baskets (yes our group of 12 has morphed into 56) all while Tracy was supposed to be talking to the news people and she only had her family there to help. So I put Sawyer in his room for a nap, checked myself in the mirror super quick, just to make sure I wasn't too scary (thankfully I had just got my haircut the night before, otherwise you can bet I would have been hiding behind the curtains all afternoon), and ran across the street to help.

Us four ladies ran around like crazy trying to get the produce all sorted and baskets filled and moved over to the shade under a tree before it all succumbed to the heat and humidity (and prayed that everyone would come pick up the baskets before the storm let loose). It was so sticky hot. And of course, the news guy is filming us the whole time... getting nice artistic shots of the baskets steadily filling up with the awesome summer variety of fruits and vegetables, but also I'm sure plenty of not so flattering shots of sweaty girls running around lugging armfuls of apples and squash and heaving watermelons around. So after most of all the work is done, they take Tracy inside to sit down and interview. Now why they didn't do that before she was all glistening with sweat, I'll never know. Poor girl (who is NOT the make-up type) did her face up and straightened her naturally curly hair just for her close-up... and by the time they sat her down to talk with her about how she started up this little neighborhood co-op that has turned city wide... well we all know what happens to hair like that out in the humidity. I could tell she felt like she'd done all the prettying up for nothing. I mean, she still looked adorable, but I know how she felt... like one hot mess.

The rest of us ladies stayed outside, still moving baskets and boxes around trying to keep them as cool and shaded as possible and helping people out to their cars with them as they were being picked up.

And then the news reporter comes out to get... me. She had asked if someone else would be willing to talk to them, another participant in the group. Well, since the other two helpers weren't technically in the group... everyone's eyes fell on me. Great.

Oh well, I thought, at least I can go inside and sit in the air-conditioning, have a chance to at least wipe the sweat off my face...
But no. "Here, right here in front of all the baskets is good!" Right in the hot sun so I can virtually glisten with sweat on camera. And let me tell ya, that is one big camera. And they stick it right in your face! Fun.

I wasn't all that bothered by it... I know if they use anything at all of me it'll most likely be all of four seconds spliced together to say what they want me to say. I remember some news crew coming to my jr high school for some story (I haven't a clue what it was) and I was so excited because they had talked to my best friend and I couldn't wait to see her on the news that night. Well I sat and watched the whole newscast, made my parents stay glued to the tv, and then she on the screen for all of two seconds at the very end. Ha!
So over here they filmed me and asked me questions for a good ten minutes, but I know (or am hoping?) most of that -if not all of it- will be whittled away.

I'm anxious to see the story though. For any of you locals around here, it'll be on channel 5 this Thursday evening during their primetime "Moms Like Me" segment at 7pm. If you catch it, you can get a peek into my neighborhood, how we're liking our co-op, the brains behind it, and maybe even a shot of my house in the background :)