Skip to main content

It Was A Game Show!

Last Saturday morning, I had to be someplace for a story while the rest of the family stayed at home doing Saturday things—sleeping late, cleaning out cars, watching TV, eating eggs. On my way home, sometime around 11:30, I called the house to see if anyone had devised a lunch plan. I wondered if they would want me to pick something up or had they decided to go out.

I let the phone ring a few times until it was clear no one was going to answer, and I pushed the red "end call" button on my iPhone and set the phone in the cup holder of my car. I drove along listening to NPR, which at the time of a Saturday morning was playing Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me. It's a fantastic game show that quizzes people on the oddities and details of the week's news headline.

The show airs out of Chicago and features people like Peter Sagal, Carl Kasell, Mo Rocca and Paula Poundstone. Listeners call in to answer questions about the news, and winners can have Carl Kasell record the message on their answering machine. Who wouldn't love a show like that?

If I were to play the show for real, I might not win the recording, especially if I hadn't paid attention to the news the week before, but I do enjoy playing along with the radio.

I talk to myself in the car, and you do, too. Admit it. You don't just yell at the jerk drivers around you who don't use their turn signals or who spit out the window or who have their bass turned up too high and rattle your windows when they're stopped behind you at a red light. You think out loud, you remind yourself of things on your to-do list and you answer questions asked on Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me.

I did that on my way home last Saturday, and I confess I raised my voice when I knew the answers, and the contestant didn't. For some reason, I think that if I shout, the person on the air will hear me and win the prize. I want everyone to win.

Later, in the afternoon after we had all had lunch, Eustacia noticed the message light blinking on the phone and called in to hear the message. She looked puzzled as she was listening to it, and she said that it sounded like a football game or something, and how weird, it sounds like Mom.

I knew immediately what had happened. As I ran toward her in order wrench the phone from her hands, I yelled, "It was a game show!!" Evidently, I only thought I had pushed the "end call" button but really I had recorded my entire participation in Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me as I drove from one end of town to the other.

The quick-thinking Eustacia, recognizing she had struck gold, saved the message and hung up the phone before I could get to it. While the family discussed ways to retrieve the message and post it on Facebook for all the world to hear, I had to sneak around the corner, get to the stupid thing and delete it. I made sure to push the right button this time.

Be honest. Has this ever happened to you?

Comments

Shan said…
Ha Ha! Like the picture. I don't think I've done this but my hubby sure did a couple weeks ago. Our littlest boy rode with him to Taco Bell on yard sale day and J called by mistake while ordering and had to scold the youngster the whole time on the record. I laughed to myself because our D was on fire that day in the naughty department and J is usually the more patient of the two of us. I got him on tape using a (slightly) raised voice. Oh the scandal! :P
10:40 AM
savannah said…
i think pleading the 5th is more than appropriate right now, sugar... oxxoox
3:46 PM
dive said…
Hee hee hee, Robyn!
I would SO love to have heard that!

I'm a huge fan of Wait, Wait …
I play the podcasts on my train journey and disturb people by laughing hysterically.
4:04 AM
Cheltenhamdailyphoto said…
LOL! Hilarious. I almost wish you hadn't got to that button. Sorry. I feel ashamed but would love to hear it. Yes I do talk to myself in the car. I have no idea how you knew, but you're right. My best plans are made then, my head's in order and the day or night mapped out.
I also raise my voice, only a little, at quizzes. My, but it's a sharing day here at Just Sayin'.
7:54 AM
Cheltenhamdailyphoto said…
I just remembered, I had a call once from an ex boyfriend and, as I answered it, realised he'd pressed my button by mistake. I heard him talk away whilst trying to shout to him to get his attention to no avail. Then, I started to listen. I could pick out all the words. Know what I heard? Him chatting up some girl. Oh yes. Telling her his life history, where he could be reached, when he was free, etc.
We had words about it naturally, and I forgave him. I shouldn't have, but we did spend 6 mostly happy years together afterwards. Maybe I should have left there and then though, saved all that time. Pah! Now I'm pondering.........;)
7:58 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Classic Green Bean Bake

In anticipation of Thanksgiving, I feel I must post a recipe with plenty of good old American tradition. The classic Green Bean Bake was invented in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly, a home economist who worked for the Campbell's Soup Company. A study was done determining that 50% of all Americans have eaten the classic Green Bean Bake, and 38% of those believe it is best served during the holidays, mainly Thanksgiving. So, for the other 50% and for those in other countries where this dish may be unfamiliar--my treat: The Classic Green Bean Bake serves 6 to 8 1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon soy sauce Dash of fresh pepper 1 20-oz. bag frozen cut green beans, thawed* 1 2.8 oz can French-fried onions -Preheat the oven to 350 F -In a casserole dish, combine the soup, milk, soy sauce and pepper. Stir in the green beans and half of the onions. -Bake until bubbling, about 25 minutes. Top with the remaining onions and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve hot. *Or cook 1 ...
7 comments
Read more

Bring On the Bombs

In today's edition : I generally try to keep on top of cultural trends even if I don’t adopt them, but there is a growing movement that I have only just discovered. Not long ago, I was walking along in Berkeley, California while visiting my daughter, and I saw a signpost that had been covered with yarn, like someone had sewn a knitted scarf to it. It was colorful and randomly striped, and I pointed it out as if it were the most unusual thing in the world. That’s when my daughter explained the nature of what is known as yarn bombing. It’s when knitters attach something they’ve created to a public object, most often doing their deed stealthily and anonymously. They leave a “bomb,” so to speak, for no other purpose than to brighten up the place and to bring a little cheer to those passing by. Their work has been equated with graffiti, except that the woven yarn is not permanently installed and does no damage to the object it covers. And instead of signifying the territory of a street ...
2 comments
Read more

Cindy Loo Who In October

What is it with people and Cindy Loo Who? Of my last one hundred blog hits, forty have been direct visits from regular readers, and fifteen have been as a result of people searching for "Cindy Loo Who," the little pixie from Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas . A couple of years ago, I posted an image of the original Seuss illustration as compared to the TV cartoon image, and for some reason, that post is bringing in the crowds, relatively. Maybe it's the weather. It isn't even November yet, and already we've had frost and have had to dust off our winter coats. When it gets cold like this, I start to think about Christmasy things like listening to Nat King Cole and decorating the tree. It's ironic because I am offended when retailers start pushing holiday stuff early, but I don't mind my own private celebrations. When my sister and I were much younger and still living with our parents, we would pick a day in July, close the curtains to darken the ...
8 comments
Read more