People in Utah like to be known as Utahns; who knew?
As many of you no doubt know by now as you come home from work and immediately check your DVR . . .
My long-lost first cousin, Audrey Eldridge of Colorado Springs, won $16,000 on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,'' absolutely no thanks to me, her "Phone-a-Friend."
She sent me a nice basket of cherry-related products - including chocolates - as a thank you anyway, which I appreciated.
Audrey wisely bowed out at $16,000 without risking all on a $25,000 guess that might have busted her down $1,000.
If you want to know much, much more about this - God bless you! - click below.
So anyway . . . Audrey, whom I hadn't seen nor talked to since 1981, remembered me being a smart 7-year-old and so invited me to be on her Phone-a-Friend list.
I've been on ESPN, CNBC, WFAN, YES, MSG and assorted other big media outlets, but never, ever have I felt as much pressure as I did waiting for Meredith Vieira to call back on Sept. 11.
Here's the thing about being a Phone-a-Friend in the Google era: Theoretically, pretty much any question can be answered given enough time. But there isn't much time, and the people who write the questions intentionally make them as Google-proof as possible at the $25,000 level and above.
So Meredith called, and we kibbitzed briefly, and then I was told I would be presented with a $25,000 question. It was a bear.
Ms. Vieira wanted to know what residents of the state of Utah are called on the state's official Web site. The choices: Utahite, Utahian, Utahn or Utaher.
Trouble is, Audrey - who already had squandered her other two lifelines - didn't have time to spell all that, so she tried to pronounce the words differently enough for me to understand what she was talking about. No dice.
Finally, with five seconds left I blurted something that sounded to me very much like "Utahn," then started spelling it and got cut off after the "h."
Audrey did not hear me clearly, but Meredith at one point seemed close to telling her she thought I said "Utahn." She stopped herself, as that presumably would constitute illegal assistance.
Then Meredith made a joke about how unhelpful I had been and Audrey opted to play it safe and take the money, thank goodness.
I would have felt awful if Audrey got the answer wrong and lost all but $1,000.
So it's all good. She got an all-expenses-paid trip to the big city, we got to reconnect after all these years and I got yet another self-indulgent blog post out of it.
Plus the chocolate cherries, of course.
Thanks for thinking of me, Audrey. (Naturally, she has become a member of WatchDog Nation. Who hasn't?)
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Comments (6)
Yes, it's true. We are affectionately referred to as "Utahns."
I always thought it was "Utes."
Your account of my Millionaire performance is spot-on! The first two lifelines were squandered (the second more so than the first). Even an easy math problem becomes a difficult one when sitting in the "Hot Seat" with the lights and the music (with a bass line that simulates your heart-beat getting louder as the questions get more difficult) and of course, Meredith. It was the 'Meredith factor' that caused me to second-guess myself on the $16,000 question. I knew the answer (even said I knew the answer) yet, the droppings on the editing-room floor would reveal an exchange where I was thrown off by what Meredith was joking with me about and lost confidence about my answer. Anyway, had I still had the 50-50 maybe my call to you would have been more fruitful. I did not hear you say 'Utahan' (I know you would have spelled it this way given our conversation after the game) when I was in the hot seat, but did hear it when I watched the show. Attempting to enunciate the words in an effort to convey how they were spelled was a bad choice. (So was not telling you to Google "Utah.gov.") Again, you are right that Meredith did nothing but encourage me to believe that you were of no help. The most important thing that you are right about is that "It's all good!" I had a great time, not the least of which was reconnecting with you! I look forward to the future of our relationship. --Your cousin, Audrey
I was going to confront Meredith about this at the NBC holiday party, but apparently the "Today" crew doesn't show up because they have to go to bed early or some such thing.
To top it off I ate a bad mushroom or something that night and was sick for two days.
One bonus besides reconnecting with Audrey: Until the day I die - barring dementia - I will know what Utes prefer to be called.
OK, Barry in Salt Lake?
Utes?!? what's a ute?
$16,000 and you couldn't even send your step daughter a card to wish her happiness on her wedding?