Many, many years ago, I was a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune.” I haven’t thought about it in ages, but the recent news that Pat Sajak is retiring stirred up old memories. Those memories were further evoked by the disposal of a cooking pot... let me explain.
In 1991, I saw a spot at the end of the Wheel of Fortune episode I was watching, that said that auditions for the show were being held in New York City, and to apply, one could mail in a postcard asking for a spot. I did so, never expecting to hear a thing, but about a month later I got a phone call telling me the date, time, and place to show up to vie for a slot on the show.
At the time, my eldest daughter (now 33) was just turning one. We traipsed into the city and I went in to audition, while Caity’s dad wheeled her around in a stroller outside.Auditions were interesting. We were told that they wanted to see enthusiasm and personality as we played mock games of Wheel. I did my best, and left thinking that it was fun, but I’d never get on the show.
About a year later, much to my surprise, I got a call from someone at Wheel, asking me to come to Los Angeles to be on the show. At the time, I’d just found out that I was pregnant with my second child, and when I mentioned this, I was told they’d put me back into the “waiting” line and I’d get another call in a few months, with another invitation.
It took several more years, but that call finally came... and this time, I was pregnant with my third child! However, not wanting to decline and risk never getting on the show, I took the opportunity, and, six months pregnant and with my dad in tow, I flew out to L.A. to give Wheel of Fortune my best shot.
Needless to say, I didn’t turn out to be the big winner in my group of three. In fact, it felt like I barely got to play at all, due to one very long puzzle and a very lucky contestant who spun about 20 times for that puzzle, never hitting a “lose your turn.” The other person playing against me won, of all things, a Picasso, worth around $25,000 at the time. So while I correctly guessed one puzzle, earning enough prize money to fence our backyard, I walked away with only a little bit of cash, a lot of great memories, and... yes, those “fabulous parting gifts.”
Being an avid game show watcher back in those days, I always heard about those “fabulous parting gifts,” but, not surprisingly, never gave them much thought. But once I got home from my Wheel of Fortune adventure, those gifts started arriving on my front porch. A stick vacuum was first... and this was in the mid-1990s, long before stick vacuums were popular. I loved that vacuum! I got a case of about 20 bottles of Whink Rust Remover... most of which I gave away, because, really, who needs 20 bottles of that stuff? I think I kept two bottles, which I don’t believe were ever used.
I got a few other gifts, though frankly, I don’t remember what they were. But it sure was fun to have mystery boxes left on my porch every day or two – this was back pre-Amazon, so it was a novelty to have so many packages show up at my house!
About a year later, my episode of Wheel was chosen to be one that was replayed during daytime hours. Apparently there’s a rule that if they replay it, they have to get new sponsors, which meant a whole new batch of fabulous parting gifts.
Again, I don’t remember much of what I got, but I was very surprised to discover that one of the gifts was an entire set of non-stick pots and pans. Not cheap, crappy pans, either, but a really high quality set! This was in 1996 or 1997, and those pots became my go-to ones for cooking. I had a beautiful set of Calphalon cookware that I’d gotten as a wedding gift, but I still usually reached for what became known as the “Wheel of Fortune pots.”
Over time, piece by piece, I had to let the Wheel cookware go, due to the non-stick surfaces getting scratched and damaged. However, there was one large Dutch oven that stayed in great shape, and was used for the last 25 or so years.
I had to discard that last Wheel pot a couple of weeks ago, when it, too, became too scratched to use. Dropping it into my garbage can was a bittersweet moment, because I had been using that pot for much of my adult life!
That pot was also firmly attached to the wonderful memories of that trip to California with my dad – we explored California, and had a lovely time together. We drove up Mulholland Drive and marvelled at how homes were built, stuck onto the sides of the mountain as if by magic, and we debated whether, in the case of a landslide, we’d want to be living in one of the houses perched off the side of the top of the mountain, or a house below, halfway down the mountain. (I chose “neither.”) The only downside to that trip? NOT being the Wheel’s grand prize winner!
Livingston, the second-largest town in Essex County, was founded when the state legislature combined portions of two farming villages, Caldwell and Springfield, and issued the new Township of Livingston a state charter on Feb. 5, 1813. Livingston is named in honor of William Livingston, the first governor of New Jersey, who served from 1776 to 1790.
