by Erin Hynes
Good Morning America named the author's block Best Block in America
July 1, 2010 — Good Morning America chose the block I live on as 2010's Best Block in America, which is quite exciting for West Dundee, Ill., a sleepy village on the sleepy banks of the sleepy Fox River, 30 miles from downtown Chicago.
Yesterday the trucks and crews arrived, the police blocked off the street to all but local traffic (not that anyone obeyed), and many of the village's 7000 residents wandered by to photograph the banner that the GMA people had strung high over the tree-lined street, trumpeting the honor and Walgreens' sponsorship. And this morning, before dawn, the spotlights went on, the local ABC affiliate's cameras started rolling ("We're broadcasting live from 2nd Street. . ."), and I gave up on sleeping.
By the time I stepped out my door into the chilly morning, the block's 19 households had undergone a loaves-and-fishes transformation, swelling into a crowd of hundreds. Many held signs to boost their odds of getting on camera ("Hello to our troops!") or boost brand recognition ("Dundee Bridal Boutique welcomes GMA"). After much on-cue cheering and whooping from the audience, the ABC affiliate wrapped up its coverage, I went through the line for free Lion's Club pancakes, and the GMA celebrity host stepped in front of the cameras.
Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and GMA host Cameron Mathison
Ah, the celebrity host. Part of the fun of hanging around a broadcast — other than jockeying to get in front of the camera — is seeing what broadcast personalities are like in the flesh. In this case the flesh belonged to "I know him from somewhere" heartthrob Cameron Mathison, from All My Children, Dancing with the Stars (season 5), Extra! and the Cheer detergent "Brighton Beach" commercials. He seemed genuinely funny and nice; he was not surprisingly short; and he was not too cool to ride a Big Wheel in the children's bike parade.
My daughter, who lives in Los Angeles and so knows a thing or two about getting in front of the camera, wisely positioned us near the cooking demonstration table early on. Thus it was that we were visible in the crowd as celebrity chef and cookbook author Rocco DiSpirito ( Now Eat This) made grilled chicken fajitas with the help of Mathison and the block's most senior resident (whose groundcover we all trampled as we jockeyed — worry not, it's lamium, which is impossible to kill).
Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and the author's daughter
In addition to being adorable, he was really good at bantering with the crowd. At one point he explained how his Italian grandmother calls all forms of pasta "macaroni": "You wanna macaroni rigatoni? You wanna macaroni spaghetti?" Adorable! (Oh, wait, I already said that.)
Filming ended by 8 a.m., and we all returned to our previously scheduled lives. By the time I got home from work that afternoon, the trucks and crew had left, the streets were open, and the banner over the street was gone. But it was still a sunny summer day on the tree-line street that is the best block in America.
Until today, writer Erin Hynes had no idea who Rocco DiSpirito was. Now she is, possibly, in love.
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