The Letter 2
My parents have always been big fans of the 7 to 8 pm television time slot for as long as I can remember. First Jeopardy then Wheel Of Fortune. And if dad happened to be running late, mom would tape it and wait until he arrived home. It's not like they would compete with each other, it's just that they really enjoy solving puzzles together and try to get the trivia before the contestant. Sure there would be times when Pher would plop down on the couch and try to out-shout us all or when dad would inform the contestants they were "dopey bastards" for not solving and spinning a bankrupt instead ("there's a little man under that wheel I swear it!" to which Steve replies: "Preston's under there?").
So being raised on Jeopardy and Wheel, I tend to enjoy both programs. Once when I was running at Gold's Gym and I was surrounded by pretty men, I cleared the Biology section without one hesitation. They looked at me like I was weird since I was actually shouting out the answers as if I was in my parent’s living room.
As I'm folding our clothes in the laundromat Jeopardy happens to come on. It's a "Returning Kid Champion" week so I tend to enjoy the college rounds. These young adults aren't as pretentious as the usual suspects and plus you get some really fun pop culture categories like "Movies from 2007"...wow, that was like FOREVER ago. But as I'm getting EVERY question (or should I say answer?) right I really look at these people's faces. They all look a little put-off. I mean, they're all Ivy-leaguers so they must feel like their intelligence is in question. If I'm getting them all right and faster than they are, something is definitely wrong here. Steve wonders if the questions are the same ones they answered when they were kids because a diagram of a circle with a line through it? Did we honestly not learn about radius in the fourth grade?
Okay so the game is making me feel real smart but what makes me finally feel human and separate from these smarties is when they throw the curve ball. Literally. A sports question comes up. And not a typical sports trivia question like: This man led Germany to a World Cup win in 1954. No this was something so simple a person who had never even heard of the word SPORT could answer it: "This sports facility has a retractable roof."
Cricket.
I turn to Steve knowing full well what it is but completely baffled that someone could possibly be that dull. "It's a dome,” he says dryly.
Cricket.
It's like these geniuses hear the word "sport" and their brain shuts down. Where as mine hears "math" and it literally packs up and hits the beach for a long vacation.
So being raised on Jeopardy and Wheel, I tend to enjoy both programs. Once when I was running at Gold's Gym and I was surrounded by pretty men, I cleared the Biology section without one hesitation. They looked at me like I was weird since I was actually shouting out the answers as if I was in my parent’s living room.
As I'm folding our clothes in the laundromat Jeopardy happens to come on. It's a "Returning Kid Champion" week so I tend to enjoy the college rounds. These young adults aren't as pretentious as the usual suspects and plus you get some really fun pop culture categories like "Movies from 2007"...wow, that was like FOREVER ago. But as I'm getting EVERY question (or should I say answer?) right I really look at these people's faces. They all look a little put-off. I mean, they're all Ivy-leaguers so they must feel like their intelligence is in question. If I'm getting them all right and faster than they are, something is definitely wrong here. Steve wonders if the questions are the same ones they answered when they were kids because a diagram of a circle with a line through it? Did we honestly not learn about radius in the fourth grade?
Okay so the game is making me feel real smart but what makes me finally feel human and separate from these smarties is when they throw the curve ball. Literally. A sports question comes up. And not a typical sports trivia question like: This man led Germany to a World Cup win in 1954. No this was something so simple a person who had never even heard of the word SPORT could answer it: "This sports facility has a retractable roof."
Cricket.
I turn to Steve knowing full well what it is but completely baffled that someone could possibly be that dull. "It's a dome,” he says dryly.
Cricket.
It's like these geniuses hear the word "sport" and their brain shuts down. Where as mine hears "math" and it literally packs up and hits the beach for a long vacation.