Saturday, October 13, 2007

Tribute to Bob Barker



Yesterday, CBS aired its final episode of The Price Is Right starring Bob Barker. Indeed, it is hard for me to imagine how my life will go on without Bob. I have been a faithful and devoted fan of his show from the time I was just a kid. I never minded being sick, because I knew that staying home from school meant getting to watch game shows all day long, The Price Is Right always being one of my favorites. During the summers, I'd watch it just about everyday. Of course, as I grew older, I had to say goodbye temporarily as I went off to college and, later, worked full-time. However, when my little Zachary was born, he was immediately introduced to The Price Is Right and we have been watching together ever since. When Ashley came along, she, too, joined our little cheering section as I spent many a morning walking off baby weight while we got our fix of games like Let 'em Roll, Spelling Bee, Now and Then, Pick a Pair, The Clock Game, Half Off, Cliffhanger, and many, many, many others. I don't think there's a game on the show that I don't know like the back of my hand.

It has been fun to watch both of my kids clap and cheer right along with the audience and those on Contestant Row and get SO excited over a "neeeeeeeeeeeew caaaaar!" I'll never forget when Zachary was 2 and I found him "playing Plinko" by dropping his puzzle pieces and watching them slide down the slanted edge of a broken down computer monitor. (From then on, anything flat became a "Plinko chip.") And, in my mind, I will forever hear Zachary yelling, "Spin da wheel!!!" Though I never got my chance to "come on down" or step up to the big wheel in the Showcase Showdown, these precious moments I will cherish forever.

Bob, you are a legend, and I will never forget the fun times we have shared for most of my 31 years. The Price Is Right will never be the same without you, but you will always have a place in my heart. Goodbye, my friend, goodbye.

2 comments:

Kelly said...

I grew up watching TPIR too, and will find it hard to imagine the show without Bob Barker. My sister was on the show as a contestant about a year ago, and it aired in December. She won a big huge fireplace for the bidding to get on stage, but bombed after that. It was exciting to see her on the show.

Robin said...

I wonder if I saw the one with your sister then!? They've played enough reruns that it's possible I could have. I almost say it was a dream of mine to be on TPIR, but seeing as the opportunity never really presented itself and my life has not ended as a result, I see it as merely a "that-would-have-been-really-cool" kind of thing. It really WOULD have been cool.