Prepubescent Game Show Fever

When I was thirteen, I was on "Teen Win, Lose, or Draw." I had always wanted to be on a game show, plus the prospect of seeing myself on TV was so intoxicating I could barely stand it.

Now, if you've ever been on a game show, one of things they tell you is that you cannot wear white, or stripes, or busy patterns, or anything with logo. Solid colors, right? This, of course, ruled out everything in my closet so clearly, I had to get a new outfit. And what do I select at Nordstrom but a nice short-sleeved, button-up shirt. In pink. Actually, it was CORAL. But on TV, pink. Right. Hey, it was 1990. What do you want?

I get to the set and they tell us it's "funny hat day." Mmm hmm. So, I'm wearing a pink shirt, my dad's giant beach hat, acid washed jeans, and British Knights. Hot. Anyway, one of the celebrities is a girl on a soap opera. For the sake of her privacy, let's call her Kelly. I really wanted to be like Kelly because she was gorgeous, and put together, and on television. And she seemed really down to earth too.

So my team ends up winning, which was really awesome! I guessed like a dozen clues in the final round and we totally smeared the other team. It was quite a confidence booster for a closeted, pre-pubescent, skinny, athletically-uninclined boy with questionable fashion sense.

As the air date grew closer, I grew more and more excited. My parents got cable for that month just so we could see the show. And on the day it was to air, an hour before--the cable goes out. Nothing on the screen but snow. I was horrified, humiliated, and crushed. Luckily, my step-dad fanagled a copy of the show from the Disney Channel and to this day, I have a copy of that show. Like a VHS time capsule, it holds the memories and lessons of a distant and faint youth waiting to be experienced and learned again.

Fast forward fourteen years later... I am taking an acting class at a studio where I also taught. And lo and behold, who starts taking the class but Kelly! From the soap opera. This is a very small world. And she remembers "Teen Win, Lose, or Draw!" Not only do we take the same class, but we end up doing a scene together. Crazy.

This, in a nutshell, is my life. It exists as a series of hopes and dreams and goals. Some are fulfilled and realized while others are crushed or rearranged. People come and go, with or without an explanation. But always with a lesson. It's strange and funny and weird and sad and exhilarating and everything.