|
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
 
|
|
Monday, May 01, 2006
Phila. looks extremely good on 'Extreme Makeover'
 Photo by The Inquirer's David Swanson Does Philadelphia know how to throw an Extreme Makeover or what? Last night, the city looked as good as a city could, demonstrating incredible spirit and generosity, galvanized by theABC feel-good redo show, which needed two hours to tell the whole tale. Benefiting big-time was  the Py family of the Northeast -- two grandparents and three kids who lost their mom to breast cancer, their dad to aneurism. Demolished was the old asbestos-and-lead contaminated split-level on Haldeman Avenue. Seven days later -- just seven! -- when the bus moved, the grandmother, Carole, screamed with amazement to behold a two-story wonder. As the family toured, they were almost speechless, except for the kids fighting over who'd get which computer in a dedicated homework area. The new home has cathedral ceilings, "a kitchen to beat all kitchens," a plasma TV, a bedroom with a bed hidden under basketball-court floor, upstairs washer and dryer, a swimming pool and a Hummer of a barbecue grill in what Grandpop Bill called "a paradise island in Philadelphia." And those are just some of the highlights. "This is more than I can handle," Carole said.It couldn't have happened without time and money donated by more than 1,000 volunteers and several area companies. But the house was only part of the community's generosity. The Eagles, whose Jeremiah Trotter pitched in, hosted a Vanessa Carlton concert that raised $35,000 for breast cancer research. Sixer Chris Webber stopped by with autographed jerseys and season tickets. Northeast Auto Outlet donated a van. Drexel University president Constantine Papadakis delivered college scholarships for the kids. The builder, the Dewey Company of Wayne, gave $150,000 to help pay off the mortgage. Extreme is right. Philadelphians can be extremely proud ... if not extremely jealous. A photo gallery and more info, including a bio of designer Paul DiMeo, originally from Media, Pa., can be found at abc.com.
ABC photo
Carole and Bill Py with grandchildren Samantha, Joey (red shirt) and William.
| |
|
|
|
