>> announcer: premiere week continues with seth meyers. >> he punched me in the face. >> announcer: plus, they're playing call my bluff. >> meredith: once on a romantic date i accidentally set him on fire. >> that's a classic meredith. >> announcer: then, after 501 days in the hospital and 77 surgeries. >> i said let me go to heaven. >> announcer: how these incredible kids beat the odds. right now on the meredith vieira show. [ applause ] ♪

>> meredith: thank you. hello, everybody, and welcome. we have a great show today. my first guest is my neighbor right upstairs, the host of late night, seth meyers is here! [ applause ] love him. and then a little boy's story of survival. you won believe what he has been through or the surprise that we have for him. right now say hello to my good friend jon harris. love you, jon. >> love you, meredith. >> meredith: and everett bradley and the mvp's. it is time for the list. first on the list, a little mishap. last night i chipped my two

front teeth. i have a picture of it. there they are. okay. i know. it's disgusting. what happened was, i was sitting in the family room, minding my own business on the couch with jasper, my dog, watching reruns of "modern family" which i love. laughing, couldn't be happier. got a bag of that 100 calorie popcorn, did something good for me, only 100 calories. started to eat the popcorn, both broke teeth. however, i have one of the cutest dentists. unbelievable. brian cantor on speed dial because i have broken these teeth before. he fixed my teeth this morning. [ applause ] better than that. however, you may not know that our guest seth meyers, he broke his nose. over the weekend. he claims it was with a hockey stick. i'm sure there's something much better than that, a better story there. i did do some solidarity with seth because that is the kind of host i am. [ applause ]

next on the list, helping our heroes. today's the anniversary of 9/11. today remembrance and gratitude for the people who put their lives on the line every day to protect us and our freedom. there's an incredible organization that's helping people who fight for our freedom. called the children of fallen patriots foundation. it was founded in 2002 and provides college tuition to children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. it's changing lives one diploma at a time. for one woman it saved her both personally an professionally after she suffered an unspeakable loss. take a look at this. >> my dad comes from a long line of military family, so he joined the military. my husband was captain orlando. he flew helicopter. when i married orlando, it was like marrying my best friend. my dad and my husband were very

close. i remember my dad talking about them flying with the doors off. when i think of them now, i think they're out there still flying. i was in school when orlando passed away. i ended up dropping out. i decided, you know, you can't waste that. so i ended up going back to school. my last semester of under grad, my scholarship ran out and the money ran out. but i received a phone call from children of fallen patriots. we're sending a check to your school to pay for your last semester. i couldn't believe it. thank god they were there to step in. as i was walking across the stage to get my degree, i would think of my father 'cause i knew

how much it meant to him. [ applause ] >> meredith: i know your husband and your father would be so proud of you for receiving that diploma. this organization helped you during such a difficult time. now i understand you are paying it forward. >> i work with survivors on a daily basis now. one of the things i do, i link them up with children of fallen patriots. i think the biggest obstacle that we have, we really rely on word of mouth. a lot of families don't know that this is out there. it's for them. that's something that we're trying to do. so thank you for helping us do that. >> meredith: not at all. we have a surprise for you. home depot heard about this and is donating $10,000 to children of fallen patriots. [ applause ] to help build those lives. we appreciate you coming here today. best of luck to you. all right. next on my list, we love new

york, don't we? we love new york. i love new york. [ applause ] there are so many incredible places to visit here. i wish i could send you to some of my favorite places for free. since i have my own show, i can do that. [ applause ] one of the best ways to see the city is on a double decker bus tour. i love to do that. [ horn beeping ] >> meredith: i think something's happening. you're all getting two free tickets! [ applause ] the bus will be bigger than that, trust me, okay? it's a great way to see new york. i all have great memories going to the plaza hotel. i go every year with my daughter lily. i grew up reading the book eloise. the thought of living in that hotel would have been so cool. here we go. we go and have tea at the plaza

once a year, my daughter lily and i. i wanted you to have that same experience. thanks to celebrity chef jeffrey zakarian, you're all getting tea at the plaza. thank you. [ applause ] you're all getting this. thank you so much. [ applause ] now, ladies, don'ted you wish he came with the tea? i'm just saying. [ applause ] but thank you so much. it is such a treat. i hope you enjoy it. and finally, i love broadway. you know i love broadway. ♪ okay. calm down. this song was the premiere of one of my favorite shows, "mama mia." so guess what? everyone's getting two tickets! [ applause ] okay! double decker bus tour, tea at the plaza, two tickets to "mama mia." we love new york! [ applause ]

if you think of something you'd like to share, go to meredith vieira show.com and send it to us. we will be right back. >> announcer: up next the hilarious seth meyers. >> meredith: i want to go back in time to when you were in high school. >> i had an interesting car. not a lot of ladies wanted to ride home in it. >> announcer: that's next. what shall we do for dinner? pizza! with a little help, it's easy to whip up a great meal on a week night. pepperoni on your side... more pepperoni. cheers! pillsbury pizza crust. make dinner pop

>> meredith: welcome back. i have always loved my next guest on weekend update. i'm so glad he could spend a weekday with me. please welcome the host of late night, seth meyers. [ applause ]

congratulations. >> meredith: thank you. >> welcome. >> meredith: we're neighbors. >> you've been in the building longer than i have. >> meredith: no. you've been here longer. >> that's true. so great. >> meredith: i'm looking at your nose. i don't mean to focus. [ laughter ] it looks -- >> big. there's a bump there. i had to go to the er and have the doctor do the thing. >> meredith: i know. >> if you think it was bad for you. it was my actual nose. imagine how i reacted. >> meredith: did they do anything to numb it? >> they put a couple cotton swabs with some topical anesthesia. but it was terrifying. but they did give you three options. do not wait for the swelling to go down, and have a nose that goes like that, or go under and do it like that. i said no, just do the popping it back in place. >> meredith: wow. >> it was the loudest noise. >> meredith: oh, oh.

>> i had ever. and because it was a really loud noise, but it happened inside my head. [ laughter ] >> meredith: did you cry? >> i was with all my friends. we were getting together for fantasy football draft weekend. so i didn't want to cry in front of my friends. although -- >> meredith: although? >> when it happened, they all laughed. someone said, you have to admit it's funny. you're the only one of us on television. i said, no, that's not funny. >> meredith: exactly. >> that's tragedy. >> meredith: you're a big shot now, whether you want to admit it or not. you're a big shot. [ applause ] >> i'm not a big shot. >> meredith: i'm gonna give you another chance to come up with a better story. >> better story? >> meredith: what really happened, seth meyers? >> well, i was walking down the street. it was late at night. it was dark. and i heard a woman scream "help, someone stole my purse?" and i was thinking i should be on my way. >> meredith: absolutely. >> but i thought, no, who am i

if not someone to stand up for this woman? so i caught the mugger. >> meredith: oh my gosh! >> i said, hey, buddy, i'm gonna need that purse back. then he punched me in the face. that's how i broke my nose. >> meredith: did you get the purse back? >> i didn't, no. >> meredith: that's too bad. [ laughter ] >> it was worse than we could have hoped. >> meredith: was that jimmy fallon? >> it was jay leno. [ applause ] [ laughter ] >> meredith: i think it's appropriate that you are here on this day. because you made your debut on snl the night that it came back after september 11th. >> yeah. september 29th. >> meredith: rudy giuliani was on that show. lauren michaels, who heads up snl said to him, is it okay to be funny? can we be funny? rudy said, why start now? and the audience just started laughing. >> one of the best lines. >> meredith: i just felt that you gave us all the chance to laugh again. >> well, you know, that is such

a credit to lauren and the people who were there. it was such a weird time for me. it was already an insane night. it was my first night on snl. i could barely process everything else that was happening. there were a lot of firemen there, lot of police there. all these first responders. and the only sketch i was in the first night on snl i was playing a fish, a floating fish head, which meant that the rest of my body had to be green screened. i was in a green leotard, my face was green. i remember meeting all of those fire men and police officers saying thank you for your service. they were looking at me like, you are the most ridiculous -- >> meredith: this is who we fight for? >> this lunatic? if you were the first responder, the terrorists would have won. >> meredith: by the way, fantastic job at the emmys. >> thank you. >> meredith: unbelievable. [ applause ] that's a scary thing, but you handled it so smoothly. it's not your first hosting gig. white house correspondent's dinner.

>> i did that. >> meredith: with the president. >> president right next to you. yeah. >> meredith: which is scarier, having obama or walter white? >> good question. obama, the interesting thing about having president obama next to you, even though you're telling jokes, the audience is watching him watch you. it's more interesting to watch the president react to you than it is to just watch me. so i felt like i could feel all the eyes like bouncing off of him onto me. where as, at the emmys, it was all me. the other thing that's intimidating about the phepl emmys you see all of these really funny people. and at the white house correspondence people, even if you bomb, you're funnier than everyone there. like, you're funnier than whatever congressman from wyoming is there that night. on your worst day you're better. what's intimidating about the emmys is all those people are so funny. i'm just happy i got out of there alive. >> meredith: please, please.

i want to go back in time to when you were in high school. >> yes. >> meredith: you had a car. >> i did. >> meredith: it had an interesting license plate. >> i had an interesting car. i had a renault le car. they are a terrible french car. do you remember them? and i thought it would be hilarious. when you're in high school the idea of vanity license plates are hilarious. so my license plate was le seth, which is now my greatest shame that i did that. but everyone in high school, all my friends, i would just -- everybody el had these souped up muscle cars in my high school. i would park my tiny renault away. not a lot of ladies wanted to ride home in the le seth. >> meredith: well, you did very well. >> yeah. it worked out. >> meredith: seth is an incredible card player, which you are. >> yeah yeah. >> meredith: putting his poker face to the test next in a game we call "call my bluff." stay with us.

>> can't wait. [ applause ] >> announcer: coming up next -- who's bluffing? >> meredith: i was once caught peeing in my back yard. >> every single thing i know about you tells me that's true. >> announcer: find out next. wish you could give hair moisture without it falling flat? ♪ some moisturizing products can weigh hair down. ♪ dove oxygen moisture is different. it provides lightweight oxygen--fused moisture for the moisture you need and the volume you want. so you can enjoy moisture with 95% more volume. dove oxygen moisture. wednesdays... yogalates.g. i also love getting deals on vitamins and supplements see on day a i go to store c

for vitamin d3. and day e, zinc from store y. and multivitamins from multiple places. why not just go to walmart? low prices without... all of this. let it go. thank you. get your vitamins and supplements at walmart. never wait for a sale again. everyday low prices. in-store and online. save money. live better. walmart. >> announcer: tomorrow, america's got talent's howie mandel. >> meredith: how did you get a second date ever?

>> i didn't. >> announcer: then three brides to be have an embarrassing secret. bad dancingds. jon helps out, tomorrow. [ applause ] >> meredith: and we are back with seth meyers. seth is a celebrity poker showdown champ. i thought we'd play a game that puts your poker skills to the test. it is time to play call my bluff. ♪ call my bluff >> meredith: here are the rules. deck of cards in front of each of us. one is either a real story or the word bluff which means you have to make up a story on the spot. the other person then needs to guess if it's true or false. seth, you get to go first. >> all right. my childhood nickname was soufy.

>> meredith: what would that mean? why that? >> just a word my mom came up with. [ laughter ] >> meredith: i'm gonna call your bluff. >> true. >> meredith: all right. >> little faster on the buzzer here. >> meredith: all right. you could be nicer. this show is new. >> that's called notes. >> meredith: once on a date i accidentally set him on fire. >> how did you set him on fire? >> meredith: i had one of those candles that you drip the wax, sensual. >> very romantic date. >> meredith: and his chest hair caught on fire. >> i don't think wax could do that. i call your bluff.

>> meredith: well, darn. darn you're good. two for seth. >> my great great grandfather was an o limb pick triathlete. cross country skiing and marksmanship. >> meredith: representing? >> the united states. >> meredith: just curious. i think you're bluffing. >> well done. >> meredith: all right! [ applause ] i once dated a police officer from milwaukee and we put his handcuffs to use. >> why are all of yours about weird things? [ laughter ] >> meredith: just answer. truth or bluff? >> were you living in milwaukee at the time? >> meredith: no, i was living in chicago. i met him on a story. i was interviewing him.

then we became paramours. >> all right. true. >> meredith: yes. >> all right. [ applause ] >> meredith: oh, man. arrest me, officer. that's how it started. >> i once cried while watching the play "jersey boys." >> meredith: you're a baby. you cry at everything, don't you? >> well, now you've kind of blown it. >> meredith: true. okay. here you go. 2-2 right now. when i was a child my maternal grandfather used to take us harpoon fishing off the coast of cape cod. >> what would you fish for with harpoons? >> meredith: i never quite understood what we were fishing for. he said tuna, but i was a little kid. >> was he drinking? [ laughter ] >> meredith: he made his own wine. >> really.

>> meredith: in the basement. in the root cellar he called it. >> i believe he made his own wine. i think you're bluffing about harpooning. >> meredith: you're right! >> yeah! but he did make his own wine. >> meredith: oh, yes he did. >> see, i trick you into telling the truth, then i notice the difference. >> meredith: how smart you are. wow. >> i proposed to my wife with a ring tied to my dog's collar. >> meredith: you love your dog. is this your little dog? >> this is my little dog. my only dog. >> meredith: and i think you are romantic, so i would say true. >> yes. well done. >> meredith: i'm so glad that's true. >> it is true. >> meredith: that's such a sweet story. >> whole time i was afraid she was gonna eat the ring. >> meredith: this is the final one. score 3-3. you can win this or blow it big time. i was once caught peeing in my back yard by people collecting

donations for cancer research. [ laughter ] >> every single thing i know about you tells me that that is true. [ laughter ] [ applause ] that's a classic meredith. >> meredith: that is a classic me. i know. you want to know the story? do you want to know? >> yeah. >> meredith: my husband, we lived in the city. we bought this little country house. we had our own land. i went in the back yard, minding my own business, on our property. i thought, i am one with nature. i was squatting. just peeing a little. and suddenly these people collecting for cancer research came with their little cans. came around the side. they saw me squatting. they literally backed up and

away. i can imagine what they said about the people who moved to town now. [ applause ] are we done? >> i think we're done. >> meredith: you won. seth meyers won! [ applause ] >> thank you. >> meredith: thank you for being here. you are the best. watch him on late night with seth meyers week nights at 12:35 on nbc. we'll be right back. [ applause ] >> announcer: coming up -- after 501 days in the hospital and 77 surgeries -- >> when the doctor came in that room, he came in and he spoke, i know what's wrong and i'm gonna fix it. >> announcer: the miracle child and the doctor who saved his a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain,

so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face

or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. and now celebrex may be available for as little as $4 a month. terms and conditions apply. to learn more, go to celebrex.com. >> meredith: it is no secret that i have a soft spot for any organization that helps kids,

especially when they are sick. children's miracle network hospital does just that. they have raised more than $5 billion to raise local hospitals treat 10 million kids each and every year, including the little boy you're about to meet. he will have you believing in miracles. >> it was scary. you can see the worry in the doctors. it wasn't something that was normal. >> meredith: just days before his 6th birthday, little boo was rushed to the er by his parents robert and rene. >> didn't feel good and vomiting. >> meredith: at first nobody could figure out what was wrong. and when they did, it was terrifying. boo had h 1n1 or swine flu. the virus ravaged his body causing a series of near fatal infections. >> i can tell you the times they told us they could not do something because he was too sick. >> they were saying it would be best if we take him off

everything. that's what we were facing. >> meredith: boo spent 501 consecutive days in new orleans children's hospital. his parents never left his side. no one could tell them or his four sisters when or if he'd ever get better. >> i'd sit there and cry and hope that they'd call me up to the office and say my brother is out of the hospital. it never was. >> meredith: it's a little wonder emotions have been so raw for boo's family. he endured 77 surgeries and had his last rites red to him at least five times. >> for me, my roughest thing, he's got fungus, it's flesh eating that would eat his entire body. and there's nothing they could do. >> meredith: to cope, staoeupls rene took refuge in the hospital bathroom. >> i would just go in there and shut the door and kneel on the floor and say god, please, please bring us out of this. >> meredith: but in 2013, four

years after boo first got sick, a kidney transplant at the mayo clinic in minnesota saved his life thanks to a kidney donated by his mom. >> that's the least i could do for him. if that would get him out of the hospital and he can live a normal, healthy little boy life. >> meredith: and when he finally got out of the hospital last september, the kid who praoetedly defied death was hungry for something called a bacon explosion. >> it was a piece of pork -- >> wrapped in bacon, wrapped with more bacon and barbecue sauce. >> meredith: last month 10-year-old boo went back to school. that was time he was here, he was in kindergarten. this school prayed for him constantly. like everyone else, they called him their miracle boy. [ applause ] joining me now is the little man himself, little boo and his parents robert and rene. thank you for joining me. you are a very special guy.

do you know that? >> yes. >> meredith: i love his smile watching the bacon burger. boy did you light up. you recently went back to school after five years of not being there. was it fun? are you glad to be back? >> yeah. >> meredith: do you have a favorite subject so far? >> i think art. >> meredith: art. art's a good one. good way to express yourself. you've got a lot to express for sure. i'm looking at the two of you. you were tearing up just watching the piece an reliving all of that. and yet you say, as hard as it was for you, you don't look at it as a terrible ordeal in the end. you see something else. >> yes. i tell people the best thing that ever happened to my family. it changed our lives. >> meredith: how so? >> just made us realize the importance of each other, of good health. also to god. >> meredith: your son spent

almost five years. when he spent into the hospital he was 5. now 10. spent so much of his childhood in the hospital. how was he able to handle this? >> i think with humor. lot of humor. lot of humor with the nurses and the doctors. physical therapy. anyone that comes by the room or in the room, we just, i think he did it with humor. we got to know everybody like family. >> meredith: there was a conversation little boo had with you, robert, right before his kidney surgery that just reading it broke my heart. something he said to you that had to have -- >> we spent ab five months with them telling us, telling him we would have him give their diagnosis to us, all three of us, not just us. they told us that he would never eat again at all. >> meredith: at all? >> ever by mouth again. because of his pancreas.

he would never be a candidate for a transplant because of his sicknesses. tried to feed him. he had a bad pancreas attack. he was hurting. having problems. she was gone out of the room. he just said, dad, will you do me a favor? i said yeah, what do you want? he said will you let me go to heaven. and i said, buddy, i can't do that. i didn't give you life. i can't take it away. me and your job is to stay here and fight. i said we got to fight. he never said another word about it and the fight continued. >> meredith: boy did you fight. go ahead and applause. [ applause ] it's a real testament to the strength of the family and to the strength of this little boy and the professionals who helped him. we have two very special people in our audience. linda middleton a physical therapy assistant at children's new orleans hospital and the man who performed little boo's life

saving kidney transplant. thank you both for joining us. [ applause ] linda, you spent nearly every day in the hospital with little boo, playing games with him, watching over him. what does this little boy mean to you? >> i'm watching this. it makes me happy and sad at the same time. he's like another child. he was there. i met him in a coma. this is what we have. a group of health care that never gave up. he just means the world to us. >> meredith: nearly everyone had given up on this little boy at one point, but you didn't. >> i think i was just one more of the people that boo and his family touched my heart. i think we realized there's no way we can let this kid go the way things are going. we need to do something. at least put our heads together. we came back with a plan that was really daring. it worked. obviously, wonderful to see how the result.

[ applause ] >> meredith: you're a doctor, but this is also a little boy. you saved his life. what do you folks want to say to these two people and the others who helped little boo? >> we can never thank them enough. dr. preado's confidence. he walked in there, i'm gonna fix him. >> meredith: just like that. >> looked over him. i know what's wrong with him. i'm gonna give him a kidney. it was just like something -- >> meredith: hope. >> each and every person has something to offer. every doctor gave us an insight and brought something to us. we thank every one of them. but when dr. preado came in that room and he came in and he spoke, i know what's wrong and i'm gonna fix him.

>> meredith: he sure did. >> he did. >> meredith: we are so glad you are here, little boo. [ applause ] we have more. we're not done with you yet. more with little boo, including his once in a life time encounter with a very important person. getting excited? okay. we'll be right back. [ applause ] >> announcer: up next, meredith's surprise for little boo. >> meredith: right now he's waiting for you. >> announcer: his favorite tv star and a special message we cooked up. that's next. if you love your hair, set it free. new suave professionals natural infusion. free of parabens, dyes, and heavy residues. suave gives my hair the freedom to be beautiful. suave professionals natural infusion, works as well as salon brand pureology® ♪

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>> meredith: we are back with robert and rene and their 10-year-old son little boo. little boo contracted the swine flu and was in the hospital for 501 days. after his release, he was flown to the mayo clinic where he had a life saving kidney transplant, his mom's kidney. in total he had 77 surgeries. thanks to the help of miracle doctors, he is now alive and doing very well. well, little boo's story was so

incredible that in 2012, children's miracle network hospital selected him for their champions program that honors courageous kids from each state and gives them a trip to washington, d.c. and to disney world. so you went to both. i understand you did a little high five with president obama? is that true? that's pretty cool to meet him. [ applause ] i also heard that when you were in the hospital, you couldn't eat anything for nine months, but you love to watch the food network. right? and especially the show diners, drives in and dives. true? i also heard that although the surgery, doctors could never schedule the surgery when that show was on the air. right? and this is the coolest thing. this is a notebook that you kept with the doctors and the nurses. and in it he wrote down, look at this, folks. he wrote down every drive in or dive or diner that you wanted to visit and where it was so that when you could finally eat again, you were gonna go to all

those places? right? that's so cool. do you know what? we reached out to guy fieri. he heard about your story. he sent this for you. this is a book of his. it is signed by him. isn't that nice? [ applause ] right there. >> buddy, you are the best. >> meredith: buddy you are the best. wow. [ applause ] that's great. do you like that? >> do you like it? >> meredith: we got one more thing to show you, honey. little boo, can you look right there? >> little boo. guy fieri here. listen, i got to tell you. you say i'm your hero. you're my hero. you're a warrior. i'm so sorry that i can't be there today. i'm down in baltimore with my new restaurant. but listen. i got a great idea. meredith when you guys get done, put him on a train, send him to baltimore, come hang out at my

new restaurant. we'll have some great eats. maybe we'll hang out on the set of triple d. meredith congratulations on the new show. off the hook. little boo, i'll see you in a little bit. hurry up. take it easy! [ applause ] >> he's gonna cook us something! [ applause ] >> meredith: when you get -- so funny. i'm so history to him. when you get off the set, okay, i'm gonna hand you and your parents train tickets. you're getting on the train going to baltimore right now. he's waiting for you. okay? sound good? [ applause ] okay. thanks to robert and rene. wonderful little boo. linda middleton and dr. preado and of course to guy fieri as well. we'll be right back.

>> meredith: are you guys excited? >> want to be part of our live studio audience? go to meredith vieira show.com for free >> meredith: one of my favorite things ab living in new york is meeting quirky characters. when i heard ab my next guest i knew i wanted him on the show. he's been a new york city bus driver for 33 year. but for many he's known as the balloon-atic. everything from cars to space ships. yeah. pretty cool, right? please welcome nick the balloon-atic. [ applause ]

>> meredith: i'm good. how are you? >> i'm wonderful. >> meredith: you made these chairs? >> yeah. few of my friends came by last night and they helped me out because they do take a long time to make. my balloon family is amazing. >> meredith: can i sit in it? >> absolutely. >> meredith: i'm not gonna pop this thing, am i? >> no. >> meredith: whoa, whoa. [ applause ] i'm liking this. wow. nick. how did you get into this? you were a little boy, right? >> i was just 7 years old. pretty funny story. my dad, god rest his soul. my gerbil died when i was just 7 years old. and my father being from italy, had that heavy italian accent. he said to me, let's go get another, another thing. so we took the train. we come out of the house. across the street from madison square garden. there was a priest there.

and the priest says would you guys like tickets to the circus? and my father said, nicola, circus or the thing? i said let's go to the circus. as we're walking in, there's a clown there making balloons. he showed me how to make a balloon dog. i have been addicted since 1968. >> meredith: really? [ applause ] your creations are magical. this is not hard. what is it that you love so much about this? >> the the most amazing thing, i tell kids all the time, if there was a way to put a camera from my heart to my eyes to do what i do and feel what i feel going to visit sick children. if i could just take one minute, i could take that pain away from them. kids or adults. do we love balloons or do we

love balloons? >> i want you to help me make a balloon. you were working 9/11. >> yes. >> meredith: driving the bus. what happened? >> i work for new york city transit for 33 years. back then on that day on 9/11 i remember it like it was yesterday. i was driving the m-11 bus up amsterdam avenue. i got to about 100th street and i heard on the radio already that a commuter jet had hit the first tower. i looked at it as an accident. but as i was heading uptown, this tall sergeant, good-looking sergeant came running out of 100th street and he said don't jump in front of the bus. i stopped. had a lot of people on the bus. i opened the door. he said everybody off, everybody off. everybody got off. he jumped on the bus and he said, you are now working for new york city police department. i was like. are you kidding me?

i'm a jokester. i laughed. i didn't think anything. he said what's your name? i said i'm brad pitt's brother, arm pitt. he started laughing. not to make a joke of 9/11 but that's what happened. i drove right down into the heart of things. i'm proud to say that i'm a first responder and i do go every year to get checked. >> meredith: you're a good guy. a good new yorker. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> meredith: would you teach me how to make something? easy? >> absolutely. absolutely. let's stand. >> meredith: all right. >> you have two ways of a balloon. you have a tie end and tail. we're going to work from the tie end. bend this over so you have about 6 to 8 inches. just like that. >> meredith: i could make a joke. i'm not going to. not going to. [ laughter ] >> midway point just squeeze. >> meredith: oh my gosh. >> see that little loop? turn that loop three times. one, two, three.

how was that? >> meredith: good. >> let it go. >> meredith: aw. aw. >> turn that upside down. from here, that down here, we're gonna go up. >> meredith: what are you doing? [ laughter ] >> this is a very tough room. okay? put that down there. >> meredith: i know what i'm doing. i'm not new to this you know, nick. >> squeeze it. now turn that loop three times. one, two, three. now you have the head. >> meredith: oh. >> now turn it upside down like that again. [ laughter ] >> meredith: squeeze it. >> squeeze it. and turn it. >> meredith: turn it! [ applause ] we have a surprise for nick. we reached out to the balloon company. they are giving you 30,000

qualitex balloons. >> thank you. thank you. >> meredith: thank you for what you do. big thanks to the balloon-atic. if you want to find out more, visit our website, meredith vieira show.com. this is a great new yorker, folks. we'll be right back. [ applause ] [ female announcer ] new gold bond rough & bumpy skin therapy.

used daily, it exfoliates, smoothes, softens. 90% saw smoother, softer skin in one week. gold bond. ultimate lotion. ultimate skin. >> announcer: tomorrow, america's got talent's howie mandel. >> meredith: how did you get a second date ever? >> i didn't. >> announcer: then three brides to be have an embarrassing secret. bad dancing >> meredith: welcome back. it is time for one of my favorite parts of the show called something you should know. great tip to help you with your busy life, to people making a big difference in their communities. today since it is september 11 i wanted to tell you about an amazing organization called project rebirth. three years ago they released a documentary featuring the rebuilding of the world trade center site. all followed those who lost loved ones and followed their

lives. now rebirth at ground zero can be viewed at the 9/11 memorial museum. for more information, visit our website. i want to thank all of you at home for stopping by. we'll see you next time. [ applause ]

>> i'm here to help. you and i will get through this together. ♪