Sunday afternoon I entered a world in which I had never been. Oh, I've tried to enter this realm. Back in 1995 I desperately tried to get tickets, but it was a no go. The Price Is Right wasn't taping the week I was in Los Angeles.
That's right. I wanted to be on The Price Is Right. It's a personal goal of mine and I was denied the opportunity.
I didn't have the good fortune to meet Bob Barker or hear Rod Roddy say "Come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price Is Right!". I never got the chance to bid one dollar because the other three people in Contestant's Row had seriously overbid on a pair of snowmobiles or some other exciting prize. My hands never touched a Plinko chip, held a putter after Bob's inspiration putt or rolled the giant dies for the Dice Game. There was never a showcase featuring prizes chosen just for me.
Until Sunday.
A traveling version of The Price Is Right (oddly enough called The Price Is Right Live) came to my area on Sunday and you bet your Big Wheel I had tickets. My plan was simple: get to Contestant's Row, make it on stage, win a fabulous prize (preferably a washer and dryer because Mama needs a new washer and dryer), and onto the Showcase Showdown where I (naturally) win both showcases because I'm within $250 of the actual retail price of my showcase.
In short, I would make Price Is Right history by becoming the show's biggest winner.
The only flaw in the slaw was that this was the plan for every other person in Elliot Hall of Music, all 3,389 of them.
Phooey.
To take my mind off of the horrible odds of me getting on stage, I spent the entire morning deciding on my outfit. What to wear, what to wear. Should I go sedate and mature with a solid colored v-neck shirt accented with a few well chosen pieces of muted jewelry? Should I go with something loud and proud in hopes that my outfit is eye catching enough to be chosen? Perhaps I should wear my lucky outfit which includes capri pants and a short sleeve shirt even thought it is February and twelve degrees outside or go with a lovely, but unproven in the luck department, sweater?
It is times like this when I wish for the simplicity of a lucky pair of underpants. You can wear your lucky underpants no matter what the season or outside temperature is.
I settled on a natty eggplant colored sweater adorned with some sparkly rhinestones around the neck. Thus far, my sweater hasn't proven itself to be lucky, but I'm an optimist and am going to wear it.
The conversation in the car to the show alternated between two topics: wishing we had studied The Price Is Right a little more and what was sure to become my ultimate humiliation on YouTube.
The overall mood in the car was one of regret. We all regretted not studying The Price Is Right a little more. Our tickets were purchased about two months ago and I wish with every fiber of my being that I had spent these last eight weeks intensely studying the art of the show. Oh why didn't I dedicate hours to memorizing the price of hundreds of products, from boxes of Rice-A-Roni to a 2013 Subaru? Curses!
The second topic of conversation in the car involved me and my amazing ability to embarrass myself in public, or as I like to call it: my ingenious plan to become the biggest winner in Price Is Right history. I have to make it to Contestant's Row, then on stage, win the Big Wheel spinoff and end by winning both Showcases.
Easy, peasy, George and Weezy, right? Except I forgot to factor in my penchant for either completely freezing up while the spotlight is on me or the delightful combo of wetting my pants then promptly passing out. Neither one is what I would call a good look.
Nothing like the ol' one-two punch of fear and excitement to make your body betray you.
My husband and my friend agreed that someone in the audience would be recording the show and at some point, that audience member would upload the pants wetting/passing out drama to YouTube where it would become an instant classic. In two months time, the video would set the record of most hits on YouTube.
My response was a very mature "Oh hardy, har har" and (perhaps) some sticking out of my tongue.
I had somewhat calmed down by the time we parked the car and walked to the entrance. Then I saw all of the flashing lights and heard the jaunty theme music. My excitement welled up again. I shall continue my story tomorrow, but I will let you know one tiny detail about my Price Is Right Live experience: I didn't leave empty-handed …
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Ooooo. What a cliff-hanger!! I can't wait to hear the rest!!
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