I can’t get over the amazing response we’ve gotten since the show has begun airing on EWTN, and since Life on the Rock. YOU GUYS TOTALLY ROCK! Man! It almost took me a whole day to respond to all the emails and Facebook comments you guys sent me with such kind comments! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and support. You all know that prayers are the thing that counts, so keep ‘em comin! AND, just as a reminder:
If you like the show, PLEASE let EWTN know by emailing them at viewer@ewtn.com!!
The future of the show depends on it. So if you want us to take the show westward, northward, elseward, future seasons must happen, and EWTN will be the deciding factor. Viewer emails, both positive and negative, speak VOLUMES. So if you like what you see, let them know. I can’t say that enough.
So, Katie D! Gosh, you know, I mean no disrespect, but I love her so much! And her family called her Katie, and she just ROCKS. So, yeah. I think of her as Katie D. Saint Katie D.
What can be said about this spectacular shrine? Well, I’m sure you all don’t know that we shot this show YEARS ago! YEARS, I tell you! This was one of our very first shows, and we visited this shrine about 8 times because we were learning as we went along, and kept messing everything up… shooting in DIRECT sunlight, which is just dumb, b/c I ended up looking like I was glowing… LOL. Our shaky camera got MUCH better over the years, thanks be to God, but I’d have to say this was one of the toughest shows to edit b/c of the bad camerawork and bad scripting (by yours truly). Sometimes I just want to punch my scriptwriter… and then I remember that person is me… LOL.
What I love about this show is the music. Popple ending the show with “Given”, which was just SO perfect for this amazing saint who, as Pope John Paul II (the grrreat!) said, gave her entire fortune, then saw that more was needed and gave her entire life! That part always brings tears to my eyes. And Popple’s awesome song captures that so much–the desire to give everything to God! And she gave it all to those members of society who were SO ignored and unloved!
Sarah Bauer’s “My Own Backyard” also really is one of my favorites, b/c the message is, what can I do from my own backyard, from my vantage point? What can I do to spread God’s love? To share it with others?
Lou Baldwin, whom we interviewed, is an old friend and co-worker from the days when I worked at The Catholic Standard & Times, the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was our very first interview for the show, and he is just great. It was so nice to include him. And, you know, the reason why he became so interested in St. Katharine was b/c he was raised in one of the orphanages that she and her sisters built. So, see. The little (or big) things you do, DO have ripple effects. Lou is a great reporter (he just wrote an article about us in the CS&T that I have to scan and post), and he uses his talents as a reporter to spread the word.
We had some fabulous help on these shoots–Teresa Bonaddio, a dear friend from my days as an editor at Running Press in Philadelphia came along one day and held things and kept us from fighting (lol). She is so dear to me. I am so glad she helped us.
I do hate that green jacket I wear in this episode though… I don’t think green is a good color for me. This was in the early days of our shooting when I tried to follow the rules for TV–no red, white, or black. Do you know what’s all over my closet? Red, white, and black!! LOL. Eventually, I gave up trying to dress like something I wasn’t, and gave in to my ex-Londoner/ex-New Yorker ways. The clothes gets darker, folks. And better, I must say. My hair was good in this episode, though, thanks to my fabulous hair stylist at Adolf Biecker Salon in Philly. I love them.
So, I hope you all like the episode! I still have to blog about my recent trip to EWTN and all the fabulous people I got to hang out with! Unfortunately, I didn’t take photos, but I DID get video from the control room while the show was airing!! HOW COOL IS THAT?! As soon as I capture that footage, I’ll put some clips online.
Until then, thanks again to all of you. Please tell your friends about the show. Not for me, of course, but b/c the whole point of this is to spread the word, you know? To show people how AWESOME the life of a Catholic can be, and how many fabulous things we have that we can share with others. So tell your friends–Catholic or not. And pray, pray, pray!!