When my dad used to pick me up from school, I would always beg him to let me play at the park with my friends. The answer was almost always yes. Like clockwork, though, we were habitually home by 3:15, 30 minutes after school got out. The next 15 minutes consisted of bathroom breaks and preparing an after-school snack. After we were finished, we had an important schedule to adhere to.
While most kids were doing homework or playing outside at 3:30 on weekday afternoons, I was sitting comfortably on the couch with my dad watching Jeopardy! My generation might think of it as a boring, overly-challenging game show, but for me, it is the most consistent thing in my life. Friends and family came and went; life changes happened; but the one constant is Alex Trebek.
When it was that time of the day, I would hear my dad yell, "ASHLEY! JEOPARDY!" Not watching was simply not an option. Sometimes he would even keep score with a pen and whatever tools we had available on hand--a napkin, paper towel, etc. Although I am older now and our schedules do not always align, thanks to the power of the DVR, we can still watch it together when we have time.
All I could do at such a young age was just watch and occasionally throw out a right answer, but this was a ritual I was born into. When my mom went into labor with me, my dad was in the delivery room watching--you guessed it--Jeopardy! Because of this, I have always made the joke that I was born thinking Alex Trebek was my dad.
Speaking of Mr. Trebek, his devastating cancer diagnosis came as a shock and a punch-to-the-gut to me. Of course I did not expect him to live forever, but he has been such a vital part of my life ever since I could remember. To think of him not with us anymore is like losing a member of the family. As he continues to courageously fight this awful disease, I wish him well and hope that he keeps making his health a priority.
Numerous television shows have left the air after a few years, but Jeopardy! has remained a fan-favorite for decades. For my dad and I, losing it would mean more than just the ending of a show--it would be the end of an era.
