Wandering

Last Tuesday will be remembered as one of the best days of 2007 for Carin Robinson. I ate a sushi dinner with my husband on W. 28th Street, and together we watched “Home Alone: Lost in NY” in the hotel room. I took a great afternoon nap after logging at least 5 miles walking in my old running shoes. I completely depleted a fully-charged cell phone speaking to people I love and who love me. But a big reason why the day is being called a “best” day is because I made it into the LIVE w/Regis and Kelly Show audience and won $500.

I slept better the night before my wedding than I did the night before I attempted to conquer the Regis and Kelly stand-by line. We arrived in NYC by train Monday night and spent some time with Nick and Kim Pomponi before turning in around midnight. I set the alarm…check that…I set two alarms for 5:15 and 5:20 respectively. I put everything I would need to get ready by the bathroom door. I was awake before my alarm went off. The sound of the beep sent me quickly creeping into the bathroom. I barely ran the water to brush my teeth, threw a winter cap on my head, touched my eyes with some make-up and snuck out the door. My husband slept soundly the entire time. Mission accomplished. I triple- checked my bag on the way down in the elevator from the 22nd floor to make sure I had my camera, wallet, hotel key and map of the city.

From the hotel, I slightly jogged to the corner of 28th Street and 6th Ave. NYC was still asleep, mostly. I hailed a cab. My pride prevented me from saying – “take me to the Regis and Kelly show.” Instead, I said I needed to get to the corner of 66th and Columbus. Once there, he kindly pointed out the Regis and Kelly stand-by line on the corner. Just in case he said. I was #6 in line. Well worth the $11 taxi.

I was alone. Numbers 1-5 all appeared to have family or friends with them. It turned out #s 1 and 2 were not together but they had already been in line 30 minutes. A bond had formed. My only hope was #7 and #8. I took my position at 5:50 a.m. A few minutes later, two people who would turn out to be my Regis and Kelly buddies showed up – Jack and Sharon, celebrating Jack’s 40th birthday. I was cheerful and greeted them first. After an hour, I had learned they had 4 kids and lived in Toronto, and Jack had a great laught. Another hour, and it turned out Jack was a pastor at a Christian Missionary Alliance church, Sharon ran a home scrapbooking business, and they met when Jack was Sharon’s youth pastor (!). They were delightful, and the time FLEW in line. Seriously, we were freezing, free but sketchy food was available, bathroom needs were in sight, but I was having so much fun. NY awoke before our eyes. A few cars. More light. Honking. We saw Regis across the street. His escort (doorman? bodyguard?) waved. HONKING. Full morning.

Around 7:30 an audience associate emerged from the non-descript building and handed out sheets of paper explaining the stand-by status. No guarantees. Go get coffee, be back by 8:30, no guarantees. I took a people break and went a few blocks down for a bran muffin and some coffee. Everyone else went to Starbucks across the street. We gathered again at 8:30. Minutes passed. 8:40. Ticket holders (people who requested tickets 9 months in advance) were gathered inside. Many people. 160 was full capacity. Perhaps. No guarantees. 8:50. #s 1-5 were let in and went through the security check point. Then she came back for #6 (me) and 7-10. We were all shaking from the cold. I dropped 3 different items from my bag before I went through the check. The guard made fun of me. I then dropped my water bottle on the other side of check. Bang. We lined up again. No guarantees.

They say absolutely nothing to you. Ever. You ask what are the chances, they look blindly past you. Suddenly you are escorted into the studio. I walked through the same doors that Regis and Kelly walk through every morning. Not until the woman pointed out a free seat did I think - woohoo!!! I am in. Jack and Sharon followed shortly behind me. We were all in the left front corner facing the stage. It was 8:56. A TV person grabbed Jack and Sharon right before 9 — I assumed it was for the go-go dancers thing. If you’ve ever seen the show (and I really don’t watch the show), you would know they have two people dance behind a screen for the day’s trivia question. Jack and Sharon were awesome at it. I wish I had a youtube clip, but youtube people don’t care about Regis and Kelly.  Oh my gosh they do! Jack just posted it on youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=arVbEaO4Rdk. Besides being new friends with the go-go dancers, the trivia question was awesome because immediately following the caller, Kelly announced (but not very coherently) that is was audience appreciation week and every audience member was getting a prize — and today it was a $500 American Express gift card!!! (except she didn’t say it nearly this clearly, and so the audience was not nearly excited enough; I watched the show later in the week and they had fine-tuned this announcement). I however had made sense of the announcement and knew what an AMX gift card was — but it was hard to celebrate when other audience members were unsure. So I doubted myself.

The show was fine from there – Jon Voigt from National Treasure, a kid from High School Musical and Manheim Steamroller played some Christmas tunes – actually the best guest of the day in my opinion. Producers hover around the hosts and guests constantly – writing suggestions as to where to take the conversation/interview. During the commercials Regis and Kelly would come out and greet the audience. Regis was grumpy but still kind to the audience. After the live taping, the big clock behind the audience magically turned the hands back to 9 a.m., and we taped the host chat for Dec. 26th and Dec. 27th. They lied and said it was the day after Christmas. I will distrust Regis and Kelly forever now. We didn’t leave the studio until well after 11 a.m. They recorded promos too — one for Brad Pitt’s upcoming appearance — but the producers fought with the hosts over whether or not it was Brad Pitt’s first time to the show or not. 

Regis and Kelly subtley departed the studio, and Gilman went to the microphone to dismiss us. No $500 gift card yet. Maybe I misunderstood. But on our way out….women with envelopes lined the hallway. I gave one my audience card, and in my hands came a pretty envelope with a $500 amx card inside. Woohoo! Jack and Sharon caught up with me on the street – I was already on the phone with my sister celebrating. We jumped up and down.

Why a best day? It wasn’t just about the money or the celebrity, though they both helped. It was the adventure. It was becoming friends with strangers (Christian strangers) in just 3 hours. It was having someone to celebrate something with. It was NYC.