The Price is sooo Right
I've been at home sick for the past two days. I guess it was 'sick'. There was no projectile anything. Just some stomach pain that I'm sure greatly resembled the pain of childbirth, yet today I find myself still (thankfully) with no children. It's been a mystery.

But the two days at home gave me the opportunity to watch one of my all time favorite shows, The Price is Right. I love this show so much that I may be jealous of people who get to go to the show in person.

Sadly, there was no Plinko during these two days of TPIR. But I love so many other things about the show that I've been able to forgive Bob for the lack of Plinko.

Yesterday, a woman on the show had the name of Oregon. Yes, as in what we commonly know to be the name of a state. Only on TPIR will you find such creativity in the names of people. It's sooo great.

I love how excited people get to be there, and to hear their name called. One lady (it may have been Oregon) screamed the entire way down the aisle and shook the entire time she was giving bids on items. Like this was the most exciting thing she had ever done in her entire life. Anywhere else? This would be extremely annoying. On TPIR? It makes for good tv.

I also love the prizes, which have gotten much better over the years. They used to be cheaper cars, like Ford Escorts, and obvious poor-quality dinette sets and whatnot. Now, there are sometimes higher quality things. Better cars. It's a little less trailer trash. But still, the beauty of it is that it is sometimes still kinda trailer trash. The orange striped couch from yesterday was wee bit low rent for my tastes. But you can bet if I'd been there to win it, I'd proudly display it in my home. It's a treasure. From TPIR.

The best part of the prizes is when they pair two objects together. Like, a chandelier with Bayer. Or, a lawn mower with arthritis cream. Who thinks of this stuff? It's sooo great. And makes things trickier, I'm sure.

As I laid huddled on the couch for two days, watching TPIR, I began to think of TPIR as related to life. Of course, it could have been the pain-induced delirium talking. And this is a really bizarre take on life, not all of it making sense. But, here's a bit of what I thought about.

Sometimes when life brings us new opportunities (ie: TPIR calling us to 'come on down!') we get really excited. It seems too good to be true. We work at it for awhile, making some bids on what we see before us, and sometimes we do well enough to make it past that first obstacle and onto the next game. The excitement increases. We are moving ahead!

But sometimes, we don't. We bid and we try and we work hard. But we stay at Contestants Row. This isn't our game. It's the end of the show for us. But it's not the only show. We just have to find our show. Or learn that maybe we don't belong on a show at all. It was a one-time adventure and we have other things to do. And that's ok.

But if we make it past Contestants Row, we are presented with the next obstacle. We're even more excited because we see more shiney things that could be ours if we make the right choices, if the price is right. It's all about choices.

Of course, in this game of TPIR, even if your choices don't lead you to 'a new car!' or to that dinette set, you still have the opportunity for the final showcase. You still get to spin the Big Wheel. It's not cut and dry. It's not pass or fail. It's not even really linear or progressive, since you could win absolutely nothing all day but still end up with the big prize at the end. No matter what choices you make here, there's still a second chance to win something. Even if it's not what you had your eye on in the first place, or what you expected. You can still claim the ultimate prize.

In fact, you don't even know what you could win. If you spin the Big Wheel correctly, and you are chosen to move on, the prize ahead is a mystery. You know you want it. But you don't know what it is. And really, the Big Wheel takes the choice out of it for a moment. You have to trust the Wheel to spin and land in the right spot. You really have no control. You made the choices in the beginning, and win or lose it got you to where you are now. But now you have to believe in the Big Wheel to carry you through to the next level.

Whoa. TPIR is...... deep.

Many of us lose at this point. Here, the game is no longer for us. We made if further than some, but this is as far as we go here. We try to do too much to influence the Big Wheel, spinning too hard or or not enough. The Big Wheel has other things in mind for us. Did it let us down? Some might see it that way. But, at least we got to spin it. Many don't have that honor. And for just a moment, we let go and let it lead the way. We've had our moment of fame and excitement. We've been on tv. We've kissed Bob on the cheek. We've made it further in this game than many other contestants. But now the Wheel says it's time to go, to search for another game.

So we go. And that's okay.

But, some of us make it past this point. The Big Wheel takes two of us through to face off in the final Showcase Showdown. This is the ultimate prize!! And now the choice is ours again. We decide which prize to bid on, and how much to bid.

Some of us are prepared for this type of pressure and decision. Some of us aren't. During one of my days at home, I saw a young kid make it to the Showcase. He was presented with an amazing prize package. There was a car or truck and a bunch of stuff. He scored big time. But, he lacked experience. He's probably never even bought a car before. He guessed way too low, and lost everything. He blew it, because the other contestant wasn't very close to her Actual Retail Price, either. But she won because his margin of error was ridiculously large. He chose wrong.

But did he lose? Not really. He may not have been ready for such a big prize and decision at that time. But he did win money on the Big Wheel. And he chose well enough to make it that far, anyway. Given more experience, he might have done better. But does that mean he shouldn't have been there? Hard to say. Sometimes we are faced with things we may not feel ready for, even though life may have us there for a reason.

And so, in my pain-induced delirium, I saw a lot of my life in TPIR over the past two days. Choices that lead one way or another. Decisions I made that were poor, and some that were great. Things that are not at all linear, don't make sense to have led me to one point or another, yet there I was. Faced with more choices, sometimes choosing well, other times completely blowing it. Times when I have to let go and trust in something Bigger to lead me to the next level, or turn me in a different direction. Times when I don't have control.

Sometimes it's exciting, and I end up with the mower and the athritis cream, or the spa, or the moped. Do I really need this? Who cares! I won it! And it's exciting! Sometimes I get to play the game I want to play, like Plinko. It doesn't matter as much to me if I win this, but I got to play what I've wanted to play and that's the point. But sometimes, I haven't learned enough, yet, to make a better decision. And I choose poorly. Or I have to play a game I don't enjoy. There are tears and disappointment when things don't work out the way I plan or hope for. I watch that Yodeling Guy fall off the cliff, and I feel as though I fell off right after him. I don't choose well, or the Wheel leads me another direction than where I thought I was headed.

But I got my few minutes of fame. I made an ugly t-shirt to wear on the air that says, "My Granny and I drove 2108 miles to see Bob... and all I had to wear was this ugly t-shirt!" I got to kiss Bob on the cheek. I had the opportunity.

The experience was worthwhile, or at the least, memorable. I learned looking back what may have been a better choice, or that the price of shampoo is less than $3.99, or that the Pontiac Grand Prix I lost didn't come with a CD player anyway.

And, even if I won everything, or lost it all, I have a new direction now.

TP is soooo R.

C.T.