1 week Ago
If there's one bright spot to a broken leg, it's when the accident that causes it can bring smiles to the faces of millions of people. That's what Cathy and Dave Smith recently learned, when they successfully got a video on a long-running television institution that's known for bringing laughs out of a variety of recorded situations. Last Sunday, a clip of Dave being attacked by bats aired on "America's Funniest Home Videos" on ABC.
The show, which has been around since 1989, airs viewer-submitted recordings of funny situations, often humorous accidents or slapstick in nature, and the Smith's video definitely fit that description. "My parents have a (vented covering) outside of their house, up near the roofline, and they always get bats in the front and in the back," said Cathy Smith. "We don't care about bats in the back, but in the front, (they're too) near the porch.
" In August of 2018, Dave decided to do something about it and get the bats out from that space. "I decided to videotape it, and probably 20 bats came flying out," said Cathy. "You hear me yelling and (Dave) starts climbing down off the ladder and he fell off the ladder.
"We actually found out a couple of weeks later that he broke his leg when he fell," she added. "He fractured his shin." In the Smith household, "America's Funniest Home Videos" had been a topic of discussion for some time.
Cathy remembers watching the show when it first aired over three decades ago; "I always said I was going to send a video in because I have one of my daughter when she was like 2 (years old)," said Cathy, adding, "She's now 36, and I never sent it." Flash-forward to 2018, and Cathy's kids were urging her to send in the video of the bat attack, "and I'm like, 'Oh, I don't know.'" But one day earlier this past summer, while waiting on a to-go order from Outback Steakhouse, Cathy had a submission request from "America's Funniest Home Videos" pop up while scrolling Facebook.
"I uploaded the video right there off of my phone," she said. "I didn't think anything of it." Fortunately, the people at "America's Funniest Home Videos" did.
A few weeks later, Cathy got a text message from a representative of the show saying that they were considering her video to air. "(The representative) sent me the paperwork that we had to fill out; Dave had to sign a release," said Smith. ".
.. (We were told) if the video ends up in the show, we get a free t-shirt.
" On December 2, they finally got a notice that the video was set to air; "(The message said) 'Your video will show this Sunday, December 8 at last. Text to confirm you got this and enjoy the show.' I asked if it was for a prize or just to show, and (the rep) said no, it's just to air.
" No matter; "We watched it and it was on there and it was hysterical and everybody laughed," said Cathy. She noted that they didn't hold a watch party or anything like that, but she did text family members to let them know and made a post on Facebook letting her friends and contacts know so they could tune in if they wanted. And while breaking his leg might have been painful at the time, Dave has a good sense of humor about it now, noted Cathy.
"We laughed again, just cracked up laughing because it is pretty funny," said Cathy of watching the video on TV. "(Dave) can laugh at himself. Everyone gives me a hard time (because) you can hear me in the background (making noises); my daughter gives me a hard time over that.
"We've watched it over and over," she added. "Every time we watch it ..
. everybody just laughs.".
