Behind the Scenes with Ricki Lake

Not long ago we posted a small teaser about our appearance on the Ricki Lake Show (which aired in March). We are happy to now be able to post the entire interview for those of you that missed it, along with the story behind the event. It was quite an experience for Rain and me. Here's a rundown of what it was like to be on a daytime talk show.

We received a call asking us to be guests on the Ricki Lake Show. We were excited but we were also pretty worried that they may try to make "The Wave" out to be something really bad (ie: what NOT to do to your kids, etc).  They assured me they would not "ambush" us on the show and would show the positive side of our story.  After discussing it with Rain we decided to give it a go, and let the chips fall where they may. Once we agreed we started receiving all sorts of information about our appearance, including what to wear. I personally was dismayed to see that wearing short pants was a no-no, and that wearing  flip flops ("slippers" in Hawaii) wouldn't be appropriate. As a surfboard carrying Hawaiian, I was horrified to say the least. But I took a deep breath and accepted this indignity with class (actually I just said "bummer" and took another bite of my doughnut). This also brought up a whole new problem; I now had to go shopping for "dress casual" clothing! What joy it is to go shopping for clothes! So with my son and our secret weapon (my beautiful wife Rochelle), we went shopping. It was pointed out to me that the shirt I needed had to have a collar AND sleeves. So resigned to my fate, I gracefully accepted this and happily (read: whining and grumbling) tried on whatever Rochelle handed me. Rain on the other hand, skipped merrily along the aisles, gleefully trying on armloads of fancy threads, all the while saying "I make this look GOOD!" The producers also mentioned that bringing a costume or two would not be a bad idea, so I started planning. I made a decision not to bring any female style costumes, since those of you that follow this blog know I just don’t do justice to a gown. It's also very possible I didn't want to appear on national TV in a dress. Our shopping done, we were off to Los Angeles!

We were met at the airport by a limo, and our driver showed an uncanny talent for texting while whipping back and forth down Southern California freeways. It's nice to have such a leisurely drive with no concerns. I don't know how many people use the rear seat belts in Limos, but I found they were easy to use and quick to get buckled. Upon arriving at our hotel (the Culver Hotel) we found that our driver had left my carry on bag on the cart in the parking lot. Not to worry, it only contained my tablet, contact info with the studio, car keys, flight info, and other non-important stuff. Thus began a four hour odyssey of tracking down my bag, which fortunately was picked up by another limo driver who managed to contact us. My bag finally showed up at 2 am, delivered by our embarrassed limo driver, leaving me plenty of time to sleep till 6:00 am. Nothing like being bright eyed for the cameras! 

  

In the morning we met one of the show's producers in the hotel lobby. She walked us around the corner, right into a back gate of the studio, and we were taken to our private "green room" to get ready. After getting settled we were taken to hair and makeup (nothing like a little pampering), where Rain was fussed over by the crew and made to look "hot." I on the other hand, received a quick glance that told me pretty clearly that there's "not much we can do over there with that guy." So I just sat quietly in the corner as Rain received the STAR treatment. 

Star treatment

Lookin' good

We were then taken to set and shown where we would enter, how we would sit, etc. We then had a chance to meet Ricki Lake, who was gracious, very nice, and genuinely interested in our story. We returned to our dressing room to wait, and the producer said that putting on a costume would be great. 
So as I readied myself in my Pirate regalia I fondly thought of all the time and "fun" I had shopping for those "special" clothes for the show. TOTALLY WORTH IT. It was explained to us that we were to be the final guests on the show, so we waited backstage for our moment in the lights. We were ushered to the edge of the set, where we could hear Ricki setting up our appearance, and we could hear the audience laughing at the pictures of the costumes, and then it happened. Ricki called our names.  We walked out to the sound of applause and laughter, and as we walked I could only think of one thing. Don't trip. Rain took it in stride, cruising along like he was made for this. I stumped to his side, plunked my behind down next to him, and you can see how it went in the VIDEO: 

In retrospect I think it went well. We were told afterwards that they really found they wanted to talk to us more on the show, but they ran out of time. The producer said in hindsight if they were to do it over again we would have had much more time, due to the reaction and interest of the audience and Ricki. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. We all know how that feels, and really, how many people get a chance to make people laugh and smile with their story? Rain and I have memories together that shine like brilliant moments in time. For you, I hope that we have been able to brighten your days a little and put a smile on your face.

Signing away our 4th born child

Snacks included

Just in case anyone forgets why they are there

Vengeance?

Green Room - wearing the new new shirt

Filming live before a studio audience