Eddie the Eagle

Saturday, March 27th marked one of those very special events in life that are not easily forgotten. Like an incredible road trip, or a wedding, or the birth of a child, or witnessing something of historical significance.

Here's the long and short of it - Sara's 71-year-old uncle, Ed, is a big-time scouter. He has a small collection of what I would call antique Boy Scout artifacts, such has his old gear and uniforms. In particular, he has a love for pocket knives and has published one of the foremost authoritative guides available on the subject, Official Scout Blades.

Throughout the dozen-plus years that I've known him, uncle Ed and I have talked scouting on many occasions. The conversations would typically end with Ed saying something like, "I was one merit badge short of earning my Eagle." He wasn't ever bitter; just remorseful. Ed is hardly the first person I've met that had come up a little shy of that lofty goal - only 4 in 100 scouts attain the rank - but he was the only one I knew who still lamented that fact after 53 years.

Such was the scene on this bright afternoon in early Spring when Ed and 200+ guests gathered within the diffused light of the 4H Hall at the Canby Fairgrounds. Wayne Havrelly from KGW Newschannel 8 was there:

As an adult leader, Ed's scout uniform is as decorated as you'll likely see. But no award or patch, including his sparkling new Eagle medallion I'm sure, holds more meaning than the one he doesn't wear on his shirt or sash - that of guiding 35 young men to achieve their own Eagle rank, including his two sons.

The Native Americans have given Ed his own name - Weotchwink Wapalanna - "Father of Eagles".

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Madison on TV - Part Three - Full Video

YouTube evidently doesn't allow clips longer than 10 minutes in length, so I had to break this up into two parts, both in-line below. 
This is a compilation of ten separate clips that aired over the course about an hour and a half beginning at 5:15 AM on Friday, December 9th on Portland's KGW channel 8. I'd not heard of Drew Carney before, but he was very professional and a lot of fun. Every part was aired live (no retakes). 
There is a great close-up of Madison at about the 00:07:30 mark where she is singled out as the youngest member of the company, so that would be from about 00:01:30 to 00:01:40 in the second video.

Madison on TV - Part Two

As we had suspected he might, given her status as the littlest ballerina, Drew Carney of NewsChannel 8 wanted to feature Madison during his broadcast. Even though this is not in the ballet at all, Madison was to be lifted high overhead by one of the other members of the cast, or perhaps by Drew Carney himself. Madison said "nothin' doin'".

I don't know if it was the freezing cold temperature in the theater, the uncommon amount of attention, or that Madison had to wake up at 4:00 AM, but something about it spooked her and she suddenly became very timid and even broke down in tears - from embarrassment, I suppose.

The focus of the broadcast was mainly on Drew Carney learning and performing a few ballet maneuvers, all while dressed and decorated as a member of the cast. The cast improvised some quick routines for the commercial teasers, lead-ins and background pieces. Madison is shown quite a bit, as is the entire cast, as she stands in the background while Drew Carney does his thing. About halfway through Madison donned a coat to help keep warm, further evidence of how ALL of the ballet company adores and looks after her. I don't think the radiators in that theater have been opened since I last left it in '93. 

Madison did get a close-up when Drew pointed out the variety of ages among the cast. "... some even older than that little girl there," he said. We were done an hour early (by 7:00 AM) and Madison is now napping in preparation for her very long day ahead.

Video to follow as soon as I can get it into my PC and edit it.

Afterwards, I opened all of the radiators up to full, so hopefully it will warm up by tonight.

Madison on TV - Part One

This is cool.

Recall that Madison's ballet was rescheduled due to the 20 inches of snow that fell in the days before Christmas, the same days during which she was to have final dress rehearsals and three performances of The Enchanted Toy Shop.

Well, KGW NewsChannel 8 has picked up the story and will be broadcasting live from the ballet studio on Friday, January 9th for their morning show. Their man Drew Carney will be talking with the cast and dancing with them on the day of their first performance. This will be the type of story that they keep coming back to during the course of their morning show.

And when I say "morning", I mean EARLY morning. 4:30 is the first airtime. We're supposed to be there at 4:00 AM. 

Of course, I can't be sure that Madison will actually get to be on TV, but considering she's the littlest ballerina in the production, I wouldn't bet against her.

More to follow along with (hopefully) some actual footage. Stay tuned...