We haven’t had much snow here in the great northeast this year. We’re 250 miles east of Buffalo, New York, the city that was slammed at Christmas. Normally, we’ve had several snowstorms by this time every winter, but this year is different. California is being inundated by rain and floods after having suffered from major droughts and devastating fires. The floods won’t eliminate the droughts and fires but may help somewhat in the short run.
But today we have mixed precipitation–rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow. Give me good old-fashioned snow instead of this stuff. In snow, if you have to drive, you have a chance. In this stuff, you never know what you’re dealing with.
I’m staying home tonight. I was supposed to play tennis at 7, but we all decided that since the weather was so strange, we’d cancel for tonight. My husband and I have a routine on nights I stay home: We watch “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” together. We try to outwit the contestants and laugh about how–let’s just say–little we know about the categories.
I’ve always said that if I were to be on Jeopardy!, my nightmare categories would be opera, anagrams, classical music, 18th-century poetry, Chinese geography, scientific discoveries, and rivers of the world. My husband says his would be sports heroes, pop culture, hip-hop music, football, architects, and Central American geography. His best categories would be the Bible, European history and culture, the Catholic Church, 19th Century literature, history of aviation, and medicine. I don’t even know what my best categories would be. I cannot even fathom trying out for the show. It’s so much easier, watching from my recliner chair in my living room, with a dachshund on my lap!
Wheel of Fortune is even easier to solve. We get a kick out of trying to beat the contestants at solving the puzzles. We know the living room environment makes things a heck of a lot easier than being under the lights in front of a live audience, broadcasting to the entire nation, waiting for a Pat Sajak wise crack, but it leads to a lot of laughs.
A lot of laughs are sometimes hard to come by because my husband has been battling severe depression for years. Having fun watching these shows is a relief from the everyday struggles of dealing with dumb things that happen in life everyday–weather, paying bills, dealing with appliance and other homeowner issues…Well, anyone who’s reading this knows what I mean.
Tonight, following regular Jeopardy!, they played an episode of celebrity Jeopardy!. The contestants were really funny, so we had bonus laughs tonight. We didn’t even have to wait for a Pat Sajak wise crack tonight. Never mind the wild outfit Vanna was wearing last night…
Bill Fischer “meeting” William Butler Yeats in Sligo, Ireland, November, 2018
Hi, Wanda!
Our weather is yucky and unpredictable. I’m in Chicago and it’s cloudy, rainy and not as cold as we like. It’s hovering around mid to low 40’s and it’s not what we’re comfortable with. Give us a 20-30 degree, snowy day, anytime.
Hubby and I like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, too. If I had a choice, my best categories would be the Bible, pop culture, hip-hop music, sports figures, and literature. Throw geography at me and I’m running.
Wanda, I would imagine your best categories would be sports and music and history too. You seem so knowledgeable about all those, you’d do fabulously! We had a neighbor years ago who went on Jeopardy. She was a beautiful woman and very intelligent. She looked great on TV, but neither George nor I can remember how she did, except that she didn’t last long. I’m sorry your husband is battling depression. I know that road, and it’s so difficult for the partner, too. Glad the TV shows provide some relief.
Hi, Wanda! I’m grateful we don’t have to deal with that kind of weather here. If we don’t like the weather, say rain, storms, or cold, we just wait a short while and the warm sunshine returns. Thanks for sharing your stay-at-home evening routine. I imagine you’d be good at either one of those game shows, but it’s probably more fun playing at home than in front of a live audience. I’m sorry your husband is having a hard time with depression. Praying for you both.
Blessings,
Patty
Hi, Wanda,
I am very happy you decided to stay home. I don*t know about where you live but it starts getting dark here around 5 p.m. now, and driving in icy, snowy weather is not my cup of tea.
Enjoy your tv programs with your husband and have a very nice evening.
Shalom aleichem
Hi Wanda. Are you aware that Pat Sajak spent a year in Vietnam as the DJ for the military radio station? He had this role before Adrian Cronehaur, but his duties were similar to what was portrayed in the movie. We haven’t watched either of your shows in ages, but enjoyed them when we did.
I grew up watching both of those shows during dinner when we lived in Panama. There was only one English channel, and that’s what they played at dinner time. I wasn’t a big fan of Jeopardy, but I loved Wheel of Fortune. I’m glad you stayed home. No sense in risking the drive in nasty weather.
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Long Island, New York, has also had crazy weather. One day it’s in the fifties, and the next day it’s in the thirties, but we haven’t had any snow yet. By this time of the year, we’d have two snowstorms already. I remember walking to the bus, taking two of them to elementary school, and climbing through the deep snow. Now, I’m spoiled.