Journal of my weekend in California

The following is a transcription of the journal I kept about my weekend in California, participating in the 2005 infomercial for Michael Thurmond's 6 Week Body Makeover (SWBM). It also chronicles my visit with a cousin (and her family), whom I have known about for years, but who has just become a really great friend!!

Saturday, September 10, 2005:

Bennye Rice, long-time friend and neighbor of my dear friend, Beth McIntosh, offered to transport Margaret (Rohde) and me to DFW airport. Our flight was scheduled for 8:25 AM, and we were to arrive at least 90 minutes in advance, so Bennye picked us up about 6:00 AM. When we arrived at curbside check-in with our six bags of luggage, the skycap explained that he had lost power in his booth, but that he would take all our baggage and us personally to the check-in area upstairs. We were quickly checked in, since we had printed our boarding passes out from the Internet the evening before. Because of Margaret’s lymphedema, she was transported via wheelchair, which also allowed us to pre-board our America West flight. While we waited, the attendant who was assisting Margaret, stayed with us and visited with us. He explained that America West was merging with U.S. Airways soon and would become an international carrier. As we went through security, we were required to removed our shoes or experience the wand pat down, which we chose, since neither of us could easily remove our shoes or put them back on. That was an interesting experience!! When we boarded, we had no one sitting in the aisle seat and the rear section of the plane was virtually empty. The flight was rather uneventful, and we arrived in Phoenix slightly ahead of schedule. When we reached our waiting area for the flight to Burbank, we finally met Nathan Knutt and Cindy Robles. Nathan has lost 220 lbs. in a year, has taken the bar exam recently and is working as a clerk for a Phoenix judge. He plans to be working for a law firm either in Phoenix or in Tucson by next year. Cindy lives in Platteville, WI, having flown to Phoenix from Milwaukee. She was originally in the military, has lost 104 lbs. In April, she married!! By the way, Margaret has lost 72 lbs. on the program and has lost 205 lbs. in all. I have lost 142 pounds on the Michael Thurmond Six Week Body Makeover program, and a total of 177 lbs. to date, since 2002.

When we arrived at Burbank (Bob Hope Airport), they took Margaret down by a lift system, since we had to disembark via the old-fashioned staircase. My cousin, Trish Vosper, met the four of us at the airport and took us to our hotel, the Marriott Courtyard. The surprise was that each of us had beautiful individual rooms with queen-sized bed, sofa, Internet connection and a balcony overlooking palm trees, with the mountains in the background. The weather was in the upper 50’s to low 70’s while we were there. Trish went with us to our rooms, and then chauffeured us around Burbank, taking us by her house to pick up husband Bill and from there we drove past her school, and saw Grinnell Street (I live on a street of the same name!!). Afterward, we went to beautiful downtown Burbank for lunch at a restaurant called Islands. Bill & Trish insisted on buying our lunch (which was grilled chicken and a lettuce/tomato salad with OUR dressing from home. I always try to travel with MY dressing!! We then went back to the hotel, rested a while, and re-packed our bag for the shoot the next day. At 6:30 PM, we met some of the others in the lobby and visited with them until Paul, our Christopher-Reeve-look-alike-driver, arrived to take us to dinner in the 15-passenger van. Of course, with spouses, there were more than 15 of us there, so BMOS Associate Dolores’ hubby, Randy, was also there to assist in the transport. For dinner, we were treated at a restaurant called Gordon Biersch. They seated us on the patio, and that was the only evening we were able to visit with all the participants. We were sorry that Kalia had to attend a late rehearsal in New York, but Dolores made arrangements for all of us to meet in the lobby with her AFTER we got back from the dinner. Dolores had a group photo made, and then gave each of us a program t-shirt. It was about 1:00 AM (California time) and 3:00 AM Texas time, when we got back to our rooms. We needed to be up by 5:00 AM to meet everyone in the lobby by 6:15 AM for transport to the Shades of Light Studios. There were six of us who were shooting in the morning and then the last 3 would be in the afternoon. First they took us to have our hair and makeup done, and Donna was our stylist. Margaret and I tried to kidnap her and bring her home with us, so we could always be gorgeous, but that didn’t work out. Following the make-up session, we went to wardrobe where we pulled out everything we had brought with us, and let Julie decide what they’d like us to wear. Then, she had us try on clothes they had purchased. I finally wore a lavender and white silk handkerchief skirt and a lavender V-necked sweater for my still photos and for my interview sessions.

After the shoot, we were told we could keep the clothes we had worn for the photos, although we did have to return the jewelry. I was the fifth person to be interviewed that day, and at 1:00 PM, we all get together with Dolores who outlined the rest of the day for us. She had a wonderful surprise up her sleeve for us…as Michael Thurmond came by to greet each of us. What a fantastic surprise!! He listened to our stories, gave us all a hug and a kiss and even cried over some of the successes. After that emotional meeting, we adjourned to one of the other sound stages where a catered lunch was being served. We were given the choice of several on-plan AND off-plan foods. The main entrees were (if I remember correctly): beef tenderloin, chipotle chicken breast, Cajun rice, lasagna, and halibut. I chose the chipotle chicken and then added steamed zucchini, green salad, and water. Other choices included a variety of other appetizers and salads, plus an array of desserts (which I did NOT sample).

Following lunch, Michael signed autographs, writing each of us a brief personal note. Dolores also signed autographs for us!! Immediately after lunch, it was time for Margaret to do her interview session, and then they surprised us by interviewing the two of us together! Now THAT was fun!!!

We were free to go back to the hotel after that, so Paul, our driver (and self-appointed agent), took us back about 4:00 PM. My cousin Trish had invited us for dinner Sunday evening, so she picked us up about 6:00 PM, took us on a tour of the homes on one of the mountains, and pointed out the school where she attended as a child, in addition to the home where her family lived. We were surprised by the size of the olive tree in that year!! At their home, we met their daughter Kristie and her roommate Bethany. Kristie is a children’s program director for a nearby large Presbyterian church, and Bethany is there from Washington to attend school as a make-up artist. Trish and Bill’s son, Greg, was also there. He will be married on Oct. 15th, and will be moving to the east coast afterward. His degree is in art. Trish showed me a wonderful memory book she had put together with pictures from her great-grandmother’s side of the family, and she gave me a photo of Aunt Beulah and Uncle Edd Stodgill (actually “Aunt” Beulah was MY grandfather’s first cousin) to add to my genealogy collection. They were Trish’s grandparents. When we got back to the hotel, it was between 8:00 and 9:00 PM, and after printing out my boarding passes on the lobby computers, we went to our rooms to RE-pack!!

Trish had generously offered to take us to the airport before she had to be at school on Monday, so I said goodbye to Margaret in front of the airport entrance. My flight to Phoenix on America West was to leave at 9:25 AM, but soon after I arrived, they delayed it to 10:15 AM, and then again to 10:30. At that point I checked with the ticked agent and they changed me to a flight from Burbank to Las Vegas, with a connecting flight on to Dallas. That was an unexpected adventure!! We flew over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, soon after getting airborne and not much later, we passed over the Grand Canyon in Arizona. My original flight was to land at 3:59 at DFW, but this one would get me to DFW about 5:30 PM. Actually, after we left Las Vegas for the 2-1/2 hour flight back to Dallas, we gained some time, arriving about 14 minutes early. Surprisingly, I walked straight from the plane across the hall to the baggage claim, and in about 5 minutes, I had both my pieces of checked luggage! Bennye picked me up about 10-15 minutes later, and she adeptly whizzed us back home via the HOV lanes, while Dallas traffic just sat in the other lanes.

It is difficult to sum up in these most inadequate words, what this weekend meant to me. It was a time of connecting, not only with my SWBM family, but also with my genealogical family. Meeting the other participants and being able to put faces and personalities together with their online photos was a truly humbling experience. The love and commaraderie that I felt was exceptional, and I am truly blessed to have had the chance to get to know them better!! What a wonderful group of new friends we all have now. The people I met this weekend from Alchemy were incredibly helpful, generous and understanding. They were gentle with us and for that I am thankful. Meeting Dolores who has been our “mother” throughout this process was also an exceptional experience, and one that I will always treasure, but the icing on the cake, so to speak, was getting to meet and visit with Michael Thurmond. He was warm, loving and genuinely moved by the success stories he heard this weekend. There are actually no words that can truly express what I feel about having my life back other than that very inadequate, “Thank you, Michael, for being the tool God used to give each of us hope for a happy, healthier, better looking body! Without your insight, I would not be the person I am today! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”