Archive for February, 2005
We’re Still Friends, Pat
The category is “On The Menu.” It’s the speed-up round. $6,000+ hangs in the balance. You have five seconds to solve the following:
“__ __ R __
G __ R L __ C
B R __ __ D”
Such was the quandary that ended my national television debut today as a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. To answer your immediate question: no, I have not become independently wealthy. In economic terms, in fact, the Wheel and I didn’t get along so well. But, I had a blast.
To start with, being a part of a real, bona fide, syndicated TV program was quite a thrill. The experience begins four hours before the show taping with an amazing array of briefings on rules, categories, set conduct, and legal issues. Next comes practice on the actual set, with everything from clapping technique, to vowel-buying strategy, to voice projection being critiqued.
Somewhere in the whiz of excitement comes a trip to the makeup chair, a chance to record a promo for your town’s local affiliate, and a chance to sneak over to the heavenly, limitless snack table. Despite the fact they spend a lot of time with a lot of nervous and self-interested people, the folks from the contestant department couldn’t have been nicer. And, despite the fact that I’m sure they’re bored out of their minds after all these years, Pat and Vanna were top notch as well.
Beyond the actual show, the job of contestant is a unique chance to experience an amazing cross-section of this great country. Six shows were taped today, meaning 18 contestants and two standbys journeyed to the Sony Pictures lot, coming from both coasts and an daunting number of places in between. There were grandparents. There were new parents, expectant mothers, and recent college grads. There was the loud woman from LA that owned a novelty store. There was the Indian software engineer from Denver (woohoo Colorado!). There was the massive man from Georgia who had a simply incredible mullet.
While the diversity among contestants could hardly have been greater, it was rather inspiring to see the hopes and dreams that brought with them. From finally taking a big trip with Mom, to saving for that first house downpayment, to providing for the child that won’t be born until July, everyone seemed to be hoping for a chance to get ahead. While I’m sure there was greed and envy involved somewhere, you couldn’t detect anything but goodwill from this motley crew. Perhaps such idealism reflects naivete, but I was proud to see that this is still a nation of decent folks who believe in the possibility of a brighter tomorrow.
Finally, while I’d like to believe I’d have such moral clarity even if I walked away from the show without an exponentially larger savings account, I’m profoundly grateful for this experience as a chance to pause and take stock of life. Sure, I bet I could find some noble purposes to put a few thousand extra bucks towards. But, as cheesy as it sounds, thinking through potential causes over the past week has caused me to realize just how thrilled I am with the life of here and now. I’ve been given an extraordinarily committed family. I continue to be astounded by the quality of folks I’m privileged to call friends. I live in a free nation, have been given a historically unique opportunity for education, and have hope for meaning in this life and beyond. You can have my Thursday, Pat, but I wouldn’t trade those things for anything measured in dollars or spins.
Oh, and the answer to that first puzzle? “Warm Garlic Bread.” The first word had me stumped.
The show is scheduled to air March 15. I can’t wait.
MasterDrive For Marching
After previous use of this space for an ego-affirmation exercise, I thought it would be only appropriate to quell any invincibility notions with a moment of personal lapse caught on film…
To frame the moment: After being away from facing movements and squared corners for a semester, I’ve been quickly re-oiling my marching machine in the past weeks. Pictured below is my first chance since being back to march a flight. While I’m outside the right edge of the frame, the lesson learned is entirely of my own doing: flights can’t march through knee-high walls. What architectural genius thought to put that there, anyway?
More of America’s future Air Force is available online.
The Information Reformation
I recently finished the latest from the pen of Hugh Hewitt: Blog: Understanding The Information Reformation That’s Changing Your World (reviews | pricing). While I didn’t find this volume quite as stimulating as some of Hugh’s other work (I presume that dissatisfaction is largely due to being part of a blogosphere that has watched this “reformation” unfold firsthand), I was fascinated by a brief appendix in the book that pointed me to Hugh’s WorldNetDaily column from December 11, 2001.
The intriguing part is that Hugh’s column references another column: Peggy Noonan’s Wall Street Journal piece from November 2, 2000. Remember that date when reading the following excerpt:
Mr. Bush is at odds with the spirit of the past 8 years in another way. He appears to be wholly uninterested in lying, has no gift for it, thinks it’s wrong.This is important at any time, but is crucial now. The next president may well be forced to shepherd us through the first nuclear event since World War II, the first terrorist attack or missile attack. “Man has never had a weapon he didn’t use,” Ronald Reagan said in conversation, and we have been most fortunate man has not used these weapons to kill in the past 50 years. But half the foreign and defense policy establishment fears, legitimately, that the Big Terrible Thing is coming, whether in India-Pakistan, or in Asia or in lower Manhattan.
When it comes, if it comes, the credibility–the trustworthiness–of the American president will be the key to our national survival. We may not be able to sustain a president who is known for his tendency to tell untruths.
If we must go through a terrible time, a modest man of good faith is the one we’ll need in charge. That is George Herbert Walker Bush, governor of Texas.
Peggy, you were right then. Too bad you didn’t know it. You’re right now. Too bad much of this world doesn’t know it.
As a sidenote, the curious “Herbert Walker” discrepancy is in the original. Such a silly mistake for such an insightful piece.
The American Way
Hat tip to Andrew over at the House of Vaughan for highlighting a redeeming moment from yesterday’s Super-Bowl-industrial-complex. I was in-n-out during the game and missed the original broadcast of the “Anheuser Busch: Thanking the Troops” ad; thankfully, the folks over at iFilm are offering a free second helping.
Also of note, Doogie and Ray over at the Swingline Stapler are covering a poignantly hilarious story of “Capture an Illegal Immigrant Day” at the University of North Texas. I’d say that invention is even more ingenious than the College Republican BBQ next to the camp of the anti-war hunger strikers that happened at CSU a few years back…
It’s Morning In America
Two recommended links to start this week off right:
Left-leaning Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown offers some genuine candor in asking, “What if Bush has been right about Iraq all along?” Job well done, Mark. In writing with such honesty, you’ve earned far more of my respect than many of those with whom I’ve agreed all along.
Although there are some odd choices in the bunch, TIME Magazine offers an informative look into the marquee names claiming the title “evangelical” in this week’s piece: The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals In America. While there are certainly some personalities listed that’d I’d be content to never hear from again, who didn’t make TIME’s cut that should be on the list? Responses in the comment section.
