Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Price Is Right

One of my favorite things about staying home sick from school when I was a kid, was watching The Price Is Right. I loved Bob Barker's way with the ladies, I was fascinated by his long skinny microphone, the sets and the prizes mesmerized me. The blinking lights and shining teeth. The "New car!", the dinette set. They were what glamour was made of. I always wanted to do the game with the punch wall. You know the one with the paper circles you could punch through and then Bob would take out a slip of Price Is Right paper and read off the prizes? I could tell you the price of a can of tuna and that it was definitely less than the hand mixer. The box of laundry detergent was the black horse, though. The price could go either way. It always cost more than I thought it did. Lower! Lower! I'd shout with the crowd and watch the contestant sadly kiss Bob on the cheek and head off stage; or else jump up and down and hug him and bump his microphone and go dance on the red spot near the Big Wheel.

What I loved best about the show, though, was when it was time for a new contestant. All these schlubs, sitting in the audience with their great big price tag name stickers waiting for the big, disembodied voice to shout their name: "And the next contestant is... Come on down!" I loved the idea that one minute you could be sitting there, a hapless spectator, and the next you are tripping through the aisles, hyperventilating, high-fiving and shaking hands on your way to your brightly colored spot on Contestants' Row. You start your day an average person and then someone, somewhere decides you're ready for the show. "Come on down!"

Right now I'm reading The Lie That Tells a Truth by John Dufresne. It is his book on writing. Add it to your list, if for no other reason than to read the introduction. I promise you won't be sorry. If you're unfamiliar with John Dufresne, I suggest picking up a copy of his novel, Louisiana Power and Light, first. Then you'll know the man knows a thing or two about writing. He focuses primarily on the writing of fiction, but it's helpful for other kinds of writing too. Most memoir is a form of fiction anyway. It's full of ideas and exercises and admonition and encouragement, all written in his earthy, conversational, and often hilarious prose. Even if you don't write, it's an interesting read.

I was plowing my way through when I discovered this quote from Joyce Carol Oates which resonated with me:
"What one has lost, or never had, feeds the work. There is a chance to make things right, to explain and explore, and aided by memory and its transmutations, find a new place where I have not been and did not wish to go."
I have been intrigued by loss these last few weeks. No particular reason, just an idea my hamster has bedded down in. I wrote a little bit about loss last week. I will probably write some more in the coming weeks. But I want to know what you have to write about loss. Think back to the first time you can remember feeling that sense of loss? What was it about? How did you feel? Did it change you? If so, how? Now here's the dinette set: Can you bid on this in up to 250 words without going over?

I'm no Bob Barker - not by a long shot - but isn't that why we write? That hope of one day hearing your name called and being able to run, giddy and bouncing, to Contestants' Row? Dufresne says this: "... there is a cost. You have to pay for the privilege of writing with your time... You pay with your time, your patience, your passion, your persistence."

Is the price right?
So, you there! Come on down!



23 comments:

  1. I so want that dinette set. Let me go think about it.

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    1. Officially done thinking about it. About the post, anyway, and now I have a whole lot of other things to think about in a different light, both past and present. Here's the link -- http://kickingcorners.blogspot.com/2012/04/300-words-or-less-answer-in-question.html

      I'll never look at a dinette set the same again.

      Thanks for the challenge, as always.

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    2. Ooh! I'm going to go read now!

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  2. Oh, I'll take that challenge. I love having an idea for a post and a challenging one, at that.
    I, too, loved the Price is Right. My husband and I went, about 6 years ago. The stage was incredibly small and after being there (my name was not called) it lost all of it's luster and sparkle.

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    1. Whoo hoo! Can't wait to read it!
      I think it's a good thing I've never actually been. There are some things I'd like to maintain their magic leftover from childhood.

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  3. Hummm .... let's see if I'm brave enough.

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    1. As Yoda would say: "There is no try. Only do." Ha!

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    2. Well. I did.

      http://papaisapreacher.blogspot.ca/2012/04/of-loss.html

      *sigh* That was excruciating. I wrote 500+ words and chopped at it until it got to 250. Whew. Oh well. I just hope it's coherent.

      Thanks for the prompt. (:

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  4. DAMN - I just wrote you this long response filed with all sorts of things but I got some error screen and now I've run out of time - gotta get ready for work - will try again tonight

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  5. I loved the show, but wondered if it was possible to go and ask for your name to NOT be put into the drawing. I'd have tossed my cookies if my name was called. Being that close to Bob Barker would have been too much!

    As for the challenge...If I can gather my wits, I'm in!

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    1. My morning gave me some thoughts on loss, so I wrote it down at work, hoping it was under 250 words! Thanks for the inspiration!

      http://butteredtoastrocks.blogspot.com/2012/03/when-loss-is-gain.html

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    2. You actually can ask for your name to not be drawn. (loved your post)

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    3. Yay, Michelle! I love it!
      Jewels - this is an interesting fact that I did not previously know.

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  6. Very intriguing quote. JCO is so damn smart. The quote and your post really resonate with me as well.

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    1. She is an intelligent woman, isn't she? I don't always like her stories, but I love the way she tells them.

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    2. JCO is supernaturally prolific, and the stuff of hers that I've loved, I've loved passionately. Some of it, though, is completely impenetrable for me and/or didn't remotely appeal at all.

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  7. Intriguing challenge, though just beginning to mull around about it five days after it was originally posted is kind of like bidding on Monday's Showcase at the end of Friday's show, isn't it? (I am off work all this week, though, so I certainly don't have time constraints to whine about here.)

    I was on my way out the door to the library, so will be bringing home the Dufresne book for sure. On the subject of JCO, she (not surprisingly) has written a pretty bad-ass book on writing herself called The Faith of A Writer. It's more philosophical than exercise-based, but it's a good, quick read.

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    1. Mull away, Masked Mom. So far I've only had one taker, so a linky post would be a little strange. This is something I'm really interested in hearing about, though. You should do it. If nothing else, it would be a nice, short post!

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    2. It's up. Thanks again for inspiration. :)

      http://maskedmom.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-can-name-that-tune-in-250-words-or.html

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    3. Super! Heading over to read. Thank you for playing along with my notions.

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  8. You may have moved on from this (I'm SO behind!) but I wanted to share my friend, Jody's, losing something project http://losingsomething.org/

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    1. That's a fascinating project. So many different kinds of loss. No, I haven't moved on from this, but seems that no one much wants to write about loss. Wonder why that is? ;)

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