The Price Is Right

Memorial Day weekend. Barbecues. Swimming pools open. Random baseball games on television. The unofficial beginning of summer for much of the country. Many people will head out of town this weekend, myself included. Since I live in Vegas, instead of my city being deserted as people take their vacations, it will be much more crowded. As my wife and I make the drive over the Nevada-California border, even in the middle of the day on a weekend, there is often bumper to bumper traffic through the desert heading towards Vegas on a weekend such as this. Thank God we're heading the other way! On to SoCal for a few days.


Is there a better weekend getaway than SoCal?? Perfect weather, beautiful women, the best beaches anywhere (have not yet been to South Beach), any entertainment you'd ever want. Deal me in. The focus of the trip actually has nothing to do with any of the above. Ever since I was 3, I've watched a certain daytime television show. I used to call it, "The Come on Down Show". The show debuted on September 4, 1972, 7 years before I was born. Bob Barker has made The Price Is Right an American legend ever since. Multiple generations are entertained by the show daily.

Think back to the last time you called in sick to work. Maybe a random "off" day during the week with no definite plans. Did you turn on the television? Was it turned to The Price is Right at one point? If you are like me, no matter how sick or bored you were...The Price Is Right was there to comfort and entertain you It puts your mind at ease and makes you forget about your crazy world for at least a few minutes.

On June 6, Bob's 35 year legacy comes to an end. Because of this, it is an emergency that I try to see a taping of the show. There are many others like me. Always wanted to go see the show, never got around to it, and now...it's almost too late. The best I could do was to score stand-by tickets. It seems a long shot to get into the studio. The taping: May 29. My birthday. Wake-up time: 5:00 AM. All of this to get to the studio when the gates open just to wait around until 9 AM to find out if there is any chance at all I'll get in. Because I'm a Cubs fan, faith is not a problem. I believe in spite of the long odds against me. I expect to get in. Is it worth all of this?

Of course it is. I've always dreamt of getting swept into the excitement of the show in person. Maybe even getting called on stage? What if that happened? I could spin the big wheel! Maybe even win a nice prize! Truly it would be 15 minutes of fame. But who cares? You've got to try and live your dreams out no matter how big or how small. And this dream may never happen, but I'm damn sure going to try to make it happen.

That's today's lesson. If you have a dream, pursue it. At least try to make it happen. So what if you don't succeed? In my short time on earth, I've met way too many people that played it "safe" most of their lives and carry those regrets to their grave. If you have a natural talent, develop it. Use it. Don't be scared of failure or rejection. Some of these may seem like cliches, but they are absolutely true.

So as I pursue my dream, a dream that may seem random to many, I realize things may not go as planned. I may never even make it into the studio. Yikes! What a disappointment, and on my birthday nonetheless! But wait, I'm in sunny Southern California still! Eureka! The beach is only a few minutes away! And I have Angels tickets too?! And maybe even Stanley Cup Finals tickets on the 30th?! (That is one ticket a St. Louis hockey fan NEVER had the chance of). In fact, I like to think of the St. Louis Blues as the Chicago Cubs of hockey...but that's for a different blog.

So this weekend, lighten up. Take a couple steps back. Turn the television off for once. Breathe in deep. Have fun. Insert another cliche here. Life is way too short to not do so. And pray for me to hear possibly the happiest words of my life: "Rich Kim, come on down!, you are the next contestant on The Price is Right."

Rich Kim