Sometimes when you live in another country, you can pick up the strangest obsessions. As I’ve mentioned before, when we lived in Singapore, one of ours was hurrying home to watch the Wheel of Fortune. The main reason was because the room where our TV was had air-conditioning. The rest of our place often felt like we were living in a sauna. Another reason for the Wheel of Fortune pleasure was because at the end of a day of teaching high school students literarture, it was dandy to do nothing more for a half an hour than watch people spin that wheel and Vanna White turn those numbers.
I also think there was that familiarity factor that created comfort. Regardless, we watched that wheel spin and wondered just what year the versions we saw had been taped. Vanna’s hair seemed to change each day which clued us in that perhaps that these weren’t filmed in sequence or even recently.
Merv Griffin’s death this week has reminded me of those Wheel of Fortune days. I haven’t really watched it since living in Singapore. Some obsessions are quick to go. I have wondered about how to be a contestant, though. Idle thoughts really. I’d be dreadful at it. A good friend of mine was on Jeopardy, another won big on the Price is Right, and a guy I taught with in Singapore was actually a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, now that I think of it.
If you’re traveling to California, you could squeeze in a game show as part of your itinerary. Here’s a read from a guy, Paul Schindler who used to try out for game shows as part of his business trips. I came across another missive, this one from Carrie D who was on Wheel of Fortune earlier this year. In case you consider yourself lucky or smart, here are the links for how to get on each show. Wheel of Fortune. Jeopardy. The Price is Right