In 1986, I was an Emergency Services Operator (911) working on the afternoon shift....low seniority. I decided I wanted to visit my brother and sister in law in Los Angeles. I'd never been to California. I asked my boyfriend, Brian, if he wanted to go. He said yes. He'd never been to LA, either. My brother, David and his wife, Sharon, said sure we could visit and stay with them. We made the reservations on American Airlines.
Since I worked afternoons, I watched The a Price Is Right in the morning while drinking coffee. I heard the announcer say , if you're in the Los Angeles area want to attend TPIR, send a self addressed stamped envelope the TPIR. I say hey, I'm going to LA, I'll do that. And I did. I was expecting tickets. I received an open ended ticket for a year and instructions. Fair enough. I packed the ticket and off we went.
I must say, David and Sharon , were great hosts. They took us to Venice Beach, Six Flags and Disneyland, among other places. Anyway, I tell Sharon I've got these tickets to TPIR. She graciously volunteers to take us to the CBS studio. She chuckled at me and Brian for being tourists. Lol hey. It was our first time to California. Oh yeah, Carmen wanted me to get her a Cali-fucking-Formica tshirt. I did. Lol. (Random memory). So the TPIR info said to get at the studio at some ungodly hours. There are 2 tapings a day. I think the times to get to the studio were 6AM or 9AM. We got there for the 9AM line. "So In Love With You", Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton. They go well together.
We thought we'd get there early. The 6AM people were moving along. We just barely got there in time for the 9AM line...and we were early!!!! They accept 300 people per taping. You show your "good for a year ticket", which is good for up to 4 people. They check your "Year Ticket". They send you to a line and give you a ticket with a number. Remember only 300 people are allowed per taping. They wanted us there at 9AM. I'm thinking we got there just after 8AM. Our numbers were 287, 288 and 289!!! Heh, if we made it around 9AM, we'd be out of luck.
Oh yeah, they were also taping for Press Your Luck. Whammies!!! They gave us another set of tickets, good for that day and told us to return to the studio at 1PM and line up on the other side of the building. C'ya!!! Wha???? It's just past 10AM. What are we supposed to do until then?? Lol. Sharon knows. She takes us to an open air market, a farmers market? not to far from the studio. Maybe my Cali friends know what I'm talking about. The Dramatics, "Fall in Love, Lady Love". /swoon. I may go deaf cranking up the volume on The Dramatics. The market was pretty nice. We had lunch and head back to the studio before 1PM. Of course the afternoon line has already formed. Lol. Except we're lined up according to our assigned numbers. And they line us up in groups of four. And NOW they tell us we need something with our social security numbers. I had a stray check stub in my purse. Lol. Don't be so quick to clean out your purse. Lol lol. Not sure what Brian and Sharon had , but they had it. :). We also get those iconic name tags that we fill out. I may still have it somewhere. But if I don't, don't hate. That was 28 years ago. Lol.
We're at the end of the line, but it moves ok. We end up with a group of producers. They interview our group of four. They ask to see proof of social security number, our names, what city we're from and our occupation. They dwelled on Brian. They weren't impressed with me and Sharon. :( But they questioned Brian some more about being a Police Officer in Detroit. We're thinking that's a good omen. We move on and enter the building.
We go into the TPIR studio. Huey Lewis and the News is blaring. People are signing along at the top of their lungs. It's loud in this small space. The studio is no larger than an elementary school auditorium!!!! And it's hot as hell with all those lights. We are sitting in the back on the left side because of our numbers. A guy comes out to rev the audience up. It works. The energy level is off the charts. Some one explains the taping process. Rod Roddy introduces Bob Barker and the audience goes nuts. The show is taped exactly as you see it on TV. For 1 hour. They took commercial breaks. During those breaks, they did giveaways. Lol. If your name got called you got something like a rice cooker. I don't recall the other prizes.
I don't recall the games. I do recall the big wheel. And it seemed to me that the props and games looked ....used. Nothing was no and shiny. Lol
Well, we were pretty sure Brian would be called to "Come On Down" since the producers spent so much time on him. But no, he wasn't. :( Once the show was over we were ushered out. That's it. I'm thinking we gout out around 6PM. It was a full day for a one hour show. Lol. And yes, I'm glad I went! However, I don't need to go to another game show. :-) Oh yeah, we're told the date the show would be televised. It was 3 months later, in September. Well guess what. The show was preempted by breaking news. Of course. What had occurred? I don't remember. Lol lol. Never saw that episode.
:-/
On a dialysis note, my tech had been ill since before Thanksgiving. She was back after the new year. She still wasn't doing well. She was told by her doctor she needs to retire now. I'll miss her very much. She taught me a lot about dialysis and how to really advocate for myself. She prepared me for if/when she was not available. I'll miss her.
Signing off with much understanding. Signing off chuckling that I remembered that much about going to "The Price Is Right" in 1986. Signing off with Vanessa Williams, "Dreamin'". :)
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