The "Come On down!" Story

It was an ordinary day. Trying to relax in my favorite chair. Ever since I retired from teaching in 1999 I try to catch my favorite game show, if possible. Well, today is one of those days. I park myself in front of the TV with Otis, my cat, on my lap and we tune in CBS. Know which show it is by now? OK, one more clue: 11:00 AM. Yep, "The Price Is Right." And .... the first big prize for the day is a 1954 Chevy coupe in aqua and white with a white interior. OMG it is beautiful!! Did you know that they are celebrating 40 years of "The Price Is Right." But, the game show actually started in 1956 on NBC and later on ABC. It was hosted by Bill Cullen and had a slightly different formatt. I remember watching it on our family black and white console TV in the living room of our home on North Queen St. Back then they had contestants bid on items and after a set round of bids, the contestant who was closest without going over won the item. At the end of the show, the contestant with the most prizes was the champ and came back for the next show.This edition of "The Price Is Right" ran until 1965. In 1972 the show was revamped, re-named "The New Price Is Right", and was hosted by Bob Barker. In this "New" version, four contestants place ......wait a minute; you have to know all this, don't you. Anyway, eventually the word "New" was dropped. Bob Barker eventually retired in 2007 and the host spot was taken by Drew Carey. I must admit, I never thought I would like it anymore after watching Bob Barker for all those years, but I really enjoy Drew. He seems like he really feels for the contestants and is disheartened when they don't win. Bob Barker was never like that. Hey, I have a few pricing games that I really enjoy. These are the games where a contestant can win almost anything, including a car or truck. Games such as: Clock Game (have 30 seconds to guess the price of 2 items), Dice Game (usually played to win a car), 1/2 Off (contestant eliminates boxes and tries to win money), Hole-In-One (probably my favorite), Let 'Em Roll (also for a car), 3 Strikes, and the ever popular Plinko (win up to $50,000). One of the most notable shows in recent years was in 1989 when a contestant was called from the audience and as she ran to the front of the stage, her top fell down, exposing her. Bleeped that out on TV, though. Had a friend I taught with whose son was on contestant's row, but never got to go on stage. Car after car after car is given away on the show. Today's show had a winner who won 4 cars, yep 4, by placing the correct price on each one and pulling the lever. She had 30 seconds to try, but got it one the first try. Also remember when they had the $1,000,000 evening shows and a woman won the million in the Clock Game. I love watching the show and guessing the prices. Since I have retired and do most of the grocery shopping now, I am pretty good at guessing prices of items. Now all I have to do is plan a trip to California and become a contestant. Maybe in my next lifetime! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.