Multiple topics in one blog post. Try not to get the bends.
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Let me tell you something about my job. I love it. I look forward to walking out my front door–even when it’s raining or snowing or otherwise bad weathering–and making my way to Radio City in Alliance, home of KCOW and beloved Studio 14A. I try to be aware at all times of how truly blessed I am in the whole “vocational satisfaction” department.
Sometimes things happen to remind me what it’s like to not look forward to walking out that door. Russians decide to hack software. People are, on rare occasions, difficult to work with. Computers die. And live. And die again.
All of these things happened in the past two weeks. Some of them simultaneously. I am certain my reaction to these events did not help. But disturbances in the blessed normality of life are fleeting. I think I saw that on a Snapple bottle cap. Or a Laffy Taffy wrapper. Anyway, it’s good for me to have a day or a couple of days (or 14 days) of work that suck eggs. It reminds me, again, how blessed I am to have an overwhelmingly happy experience at work 97% of the time.
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Having said that, the last two weeks really did kick the crap out of me. I’m a worrier. Or as I said on Facebook three years ago today:
If there were awards for worrying I would be an EGOT (Easily Grows Overly Terrified).
So today, to congratulate myself for not completely falling apart when things were off the rails, I booked a trip for March of 2022 to Walt Disney World. It has been, shockingly, 7 years since my last Disney theme park trip. There was a stretch there where I was going to Disneyland about once a year. I was just thinking about going back when COVID hit.
Now, of course, all kinds of things could change between now and March. But here’s what I know: I can be on vacation wearing a mask virtually the entire time and still have fun. I did that in Chicago back in April. I know Disney parks are great vacation spots because there are lots of places to sit down, the hotels are nice, and the experience is just awesome. I have a friend who got a picture with Chewbacca at one of the DIsney Parks. He’s crying in the picture, just overwhelmed with joy, which warms my heart. We’re all a kid inside, and the parks bring it out of you.
So, in March unless:
-COVID gets worse
-I trip on something
-It snows
-It rains
-The U.S. airline system collapses
-Any number of other random calamities occur
I’m Disney bound!
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Today was my first chance to see the “Price Is Right 50th Anniversary Special.” It gets a thumbs up from me! By doing a 2-hour show, they were able to do a full 6-contestant game along with a bountiful amount of reminiscing. (TPIR’s 25th anniversary only got an hour of prime-time but that was 1997, when the networks were still competitive.)
15 years in, Drew Carey hosting “The Price Is Right” is…well, Drew Carey hosting “The Price Is Right.” He’s funny, friendly, plainly loves to see people win big, and has done a fine job mastering the massive rotation of pricing games. (Honestly, that’s a real accomplishment. Everybody knows how to play Plinko or Cliffhangers, but how about Take Two? Five Price Tags? Yeah, there’s a lot of them.) Drew respects the history of TPIR which I appreciate.
What Drew isn’t is smooth. Bob Barker was smooth…he transitioned from calling a contestant down to bidding on an item up for bids, to introducing the prize, and the pricing game, and all that stuff, with a running chatter worthy of a carny. Drew moves from one element to another with as few words as possible and has what we call “crutch phrases” in radio. Bob Barker had 15 different ways to say, “What’s the next item up for bids?” Drew says “Next prize, George.” These are things most viewers may not notice but those of us who remember Bob certainly do.
But anyway, the special was really enjoyable. I was particularly pleased by a segment devoted to the announcers who’ve beckoned people to “Come On Down!” over the years. Lots of great old clips of the fantastic Johnny Olson and Rod Roddy, and even Rich Fields. George Gray, the show’s current announcer, does a fine job and has even made “Hi Mama May!” something of a catchphrase. No other game show in history (with the possible exception of “You Bet Your Life”) has depended so heavily on its announcer.
The clip selection was quite good, with all the usual suspects on hand plus some stuff I’d never seen, or hadn’t seen in so many years that I forgot it. Did you know Carol Burnett made a cameo on “The Price Is Right”?
Bob mentions Carol taping her show in Studio 33, where TPIR has taped for all 50 of its years. I remember gaping at the studio when my friend Pat and I went to a “Price” taping and thinking of all the incredible broadcasts originating from that hallowed ground: Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Smothers Brothers, Carol of course, and a mess of game shows…I doubt the other people in the audience were thinking of Jack Benny and Red Skelton. They were probably thinking, “Boy it’d be nice to play Plinko.” Which, very very true.