contagious joy

Bob Barker. An icon of my childhood. He held that tiny microphone with such precision, white hair was always perfectly in place, and he had a twinkle in his eye. No, I didn't have a crush on Bob. But he was a staple of childhood. Every day that I wasn't in school, you could find me in front of the TV at 10 am telling the contestants what to bid. I dreamt of hearing Rod Roddy call my name to "come on down" and winning the whole showcase. As I got older, I saw Bob's wrinkles getting deeper and the rumors of him leaving were abundant. I kept thinking I could make it there in time, but I didn't. And when Bob left, part of me died. The Price is Right withOUT Bob Barker??! That's like having tortilla chips without salsa, frosted mini-wheats without milk, fried chicken without mashed potatoes. I was a loyalist. No Bob = no me. I heard that Drew Carey was hosting and I scoffed. As if...

Recently, though, after years of abandoning the show...I revisited my favorite pastime. I'm hooked all over again. When someone wins their game or the showcase, or even the wheel, I want to yell and scream out loud! And I'm feeling the itch to go on the show ALL over again!! I can play cliff hanger and plinko! I know the real price of rice-a-roni and S.O.S. pads!!

I was at the gym yesterday, watching the show while pumping away on the eliptical and realized something. I was grinning from ear to ear. I even had tears in my eyes. Had I not been at the gym, I would have been jumping up and down. And then two thoughts occurred to me.... A) pregnancy is obviously making me more emotional than normal, and B) people love to watch other people succeed. It's contagious joy. Because we are meant to share joy and suffering with each other. even if it is across a TV screen.

And Drew isn't so bad once you are used to him! He's probably even a little nicer to contestants, if you ask me. Maybe that's because he hasn't been doing the show for 100 years already. oh, and I'm still planning to get tickets one day. There's a showcase showdown just waiting for me!



*Fun fact: My grandmother, aunt, sister, and brother-in-law all made it to the show when Bob Barker was there. All in the family...