Ask Pat

All of you probably know by now that I am a Wheel Watcher. One of the fun sections on the club site is where members can write in with their questions and Pat will select which to answer. I've been saving this one for months, and thought this would be an appropriate time to share it with you.

Q ... If someone asked you what the top five rules for living a successful life are, what would your answers be?

Pat's response ...

It's tempting to be flip, so I'll avoid saying things like, "Wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident." I have never been a believer in following celebrity advice. Believe me, we're probably among the least qualified to give it. Nevertheless, keeping in mind that I have not always followed my own advice, here goes ... ...

1. Treat others with respect. It's not just the right thing to do; if you don't, it will almost always come back and bite you.

2. Learn as much as you can about as many things as you can. I know of almost no one my age who doesn't regret not following that one. You never know where life will take you, and preparation is the key to success.

3. Laugh a lot. The world is a very serious place, and, eventually, sadness or tragedy will touch your life. It's hard enough to deal with those things when they actually occur, so there's no sense in fretting about them ahead of time. Enjoy every good time to the fullest.

4. Don't sweat the small stuff. Happily, most of life's problems are merely irritants and not worth worrying about. Imagine how much better your day would be if you took only serious matters seriously.

5. Marry well and marry seriously, or don't marry. And be at least as patient and forgiving with your spouse (and your children) as you are with strangers. It's amazing how little slack we can cut for those closest to us.

I must now go back to my cave and meditate!

Shows a little different side of him, doesn't it? I was one of the few who liked his late night talk show, too. Of course, he was going up against Johnny Carson. It's a wonder his show lasted as long as it did!

[By the way, how do you like the photo I chose of him? Great, isn't it? I don't think he's very photogenic. Took me a while to find a good one. Another 'btw' ... I must have heard that "wear clean underwear" mantra so much in my early years that - to this day - I cannot put on a pair of undies without thinking of it. Is that hilarious, or what?]


Now, on April 1, 2008, this piece aired on "Wheel of Fortune" ...



... What do you think? Is he or is he not? Is Vanna White the world's best actress or is she not? Was this real or was it one of the world's better April Fool jokes?

In an attempt to find out the true answer once and for all, and at Tammy's behest, I wrote my question in to "Ask Pat". Daily, for weeks and weeks, I checked his answers to see if he would address my question. He never did. I stopped checking. (Pardon me for a moment while I check one more time to see if he answered my question ... ... nope, still not there.)

Meanwhile, the controversy rages on. (Sorry, Tammy, no definitive answer.)


For those of you who might be interested in joining the club, check out sonyrewards.com for 'how to' information. If you want to play some free practice games, go here.

"Wheel" - a brief history

It was on this date - January 6, 1975 - that "Wheel of Fortune" first aired. It was a daytime show, and for six years Chuck Woolery was its host.


Then, in a salary dispute in 1981 with Merv Griffin, the show's creator, he left and was replaced by Pat Sajak*. "And the rest," as they say, "is history."

[Evidently the dispute between Woolery and Griffin was quite bitter, and the rancor remained throughout the rest of Griffin's life.]

There have been other hosts, particularly in the two and a half year period when Pat Sajak left to host his own late night talk show, but - for the vast majority of that time between 1975 and now, it's been just the two.

Wiki has a pretty thorough recap of the daytime show here. Appropriately enough, it was last modified just today.


For those of you who have been enjoying and watching the nighttime version of "Wheel" and know that they were celebrating their 25th year, you might have wondered about the disparity. Why only 25 years? Why not 34? Well, it was the 25th anniversary year of the nighttime show, which debuted on September 19, 1983, that they were celebrating.

[Tammy, now, remembers watching the old shopping format. Don't think I ever saw any of those!]

Here is the Puzzle Board as it appeared through 1997,


and here's what it looks like now.



The million dollar wedge was added last year, and on October 14, 2008, someone actually went through all of the many and various hoops required to win it. It was very exciting, and I wrote about it briefly in this post.

For further details on the history of the nighttime version, updated just today as was the other, go here. Again, courtesy of Wiki.


*I've been saving a draft for a post on Pat Sajak since last April, and will edit and publish it tomorrow. Look for it, OK?

The Story of India

PBS is currently showing a six-part series on India. I sat and watched, enthralled, as the first two episodes aired last night. In case you missed it, here is how it begins ...



I should add that the clip you just watched is not exactly what was shown last night, but it's very close. Further edits and modifications have been made for the current series. Michael Wood did a tremendous job writing and narrating, and I am really looking forward to next Monday night, when our local PBS station will show parts three and four.

For those of you who are home-schooling, or just interested in learning more about this series and India, this site is full of useful information.

The 'peanut farmer' ...

... was what my memory banks had stored up about George Washington Carver. Well yes, he was that, but so much more!


Look at his photograph. Tell me, what do you see?

I see a most distinguished-looking gentleman whose eyes are filled with proud memories of times past and a job well begun, and bright in anticipation of future discoveries.


[I scarcely knew where exactly to begin and then try and continue this post in a manner that would do him justice. My own research - which has barely scratched the surface, I'm sure - has dredged up many inconsistencies. And so, I have decided to just 'fly' with my own best guesses as to where the truth ultimately lies.]


Fact vs. fiction ...

1) He was born of slave parents. True. The slave owners were Moses and Sarah Carver.

2) He was born in January 1864. ? Other accounts state July 1864. Even July 1865.

3) He was orphaned at an early age. True, altho there are conflicting reports as to the circumstances.

4) He didn't enter college until the age of 30. False. He entered at the age of 26. (The facts were that he had to first earn the money to enroll and then find a college that would accept a Negro.)

5) He enrolled as an agriculture major at Iowa State College in 1890. False. He began college in 1890, but it was at Simpson - and not as an agricultural student, either. He enrolled to study piano and art. In fact, some of his paintings were exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, receiving an honorable mention.

6) Most of his inventions were not patentable. False. While it is true that he received only three patents - one for cosmetics and two for paints and stains - between the years of 1925 and 1927, it is this author's opinion that he really was not most interested in fame and fortune. Rather, I would suggest, he was intrigued more by the process of observation and ultimate discovery.

7) He was a humble man and deeply religious. True. One quote I found and would like to share (this in reference to why he didn't further pursue patents for others of his many inventions) ... "God gave them to me, how can I sell them to someone else?"

8) He never married. ? I could find no reference to the contrary.

9) He invented peanut butter. ? There are even statements to the contrary on that! (Don't you worry, Dr. Carver. Every time I eat or even think of peanut butter, it'll be you that comes to mind!)

10) It was only years after his death that George Washington Carver's importance to agriculture and farming, particularly in regard to the many hundreds of practical uses he discovered for the 'lowly' peanut (not to mention sweet potatoes, pecans, cornstalk fibers, the palmetto root, etc.), was recognized. False, I am pleased to write. His contributions - most specifically in the area of crop rotation - were widely recognized.

11) He died on January 5, 1943, in Tuskegee Alabama. True.


There is a ton of mis/information available on the web, and almost all of it is fascinating! I invite you, as you wish and at your leisure, to check any or all of the sites out and then come to your own conclusions.

I'm not going to try and influence your reading by linking one or more of them, specifically. Instead, I'd just like to leave you today with this quote ... ...

"Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses." ~ George Washington Carver

Sunday morning

What would Sunday mornings be like on this blog site if not for Charles Osgood's show? Different, that's for sure! Although Charles had a guest host today, the features were, as usual, fascinating.


Best friends ...

Tara and Bella have been best friends for years, even though there's a huge disparity in their sizes. You see, Tara is an elephant and Bella is a dog.

Where is this, in a circus? No, it's on an elephant 'retirement sanctuary' in Tennessee. Today's story focused on the friendship between the two, not on the sanctuary itself, so I don't have much information for you on how or when it was first set up or exactly where in Tennessee it is located.

When an elephant first arrives at the sanctuary, she goes looking for a friend -- usually another elephant. There are several stray dogs on the grounds, and normally the two stay far away from each other.

Not in this case, tho. Somehow or another, Tara and Bella struck up a friendship that has only deepened over the years. Then, one day Bella sustained an injury that confined her to the infirmary for several days. Tara was disconsolate. She didn't roam all over in search of her friend. Somehow she knew that Bella was in the hospital. She stayed in one corner of the tremendous grounds, as close to the infirmary as she could get, waiting and watching for her friend to appear.

Finally, one of the staff decided to carry Bella outside to the porch so she could at least see her enormous friend. As soon as she saw Tara, Bella started to wag her tail, so he carried her down the rest of the way to where Tara was patiently maintaining her vigil.

Bella continued her recovery, and there were several moving shots of the two playing and just walking quietly along together. I love happy endings!


Pennies for Peace ...

The 16-year-old son of actor John Travolta died a couple of days ago, apparently from injuries incurred in a bathroom fall. Although it was well-known that he had epilepsy, autopsies are being conducted even as I write this to determine the actual cause of death.

In 1992, the younger sister of Greg Mortenson fell victim to this same disease. He decided to climb K2 in honor of her memory in 1993. He never made it to the top. Exhausted and weakened by fellow climbers' and his successful rescue of a 5th member of their party, he was barely able to make it to the remote village of Korphe, in northeastern Pakistan.

He was nursed back to health by these kind people, and promised to build them a school in return. His book, Three Cups of Tea, which has been on the New York Times' best-seller list for something like 100 (!) weeks now, chronicles his struggles to try and fulfill his promise.

One of the most heartening of the many stories included in this journal is where grade school children brought in all of their pennies. Several hundred dollars were raised in this initial effort, and he was encouraged to go ahead with it and tried again to get enough funds so he could return to that village with at least something!

There is website after website that you can visit to learn more. You could begin here. Even tho this article was updated January 1st, it still is a little behind. On Charles' show this morning, it was announced that - not 60, but 78 schools have been built in not only Pakistan, but neighboring Afghanistan, with eight more planned! Incredible, simply incredible!!

We often hear of Taliban strikes on Western-built schools, especially those that include classes for girls, but the schools that Greg has helped raise money for have - for the most part - escaped such destruction. Why? Because the villagers themselves helped build them, and they are keenly interested in what happens to these schools that have brought such wonderful changes to their small communities.

It's pretty much a 'win win' situation no matter which way one might choose to look at it.

[One website that you might want to take a look at is Pennies for Peace. I googled 'Korphe'. Greg has his own website, which I have not visited, and there has been writeup after writeup about him, particularly in the last year.]

This is a truly inspirational story of one person making a difference. On March 23rd this year, he will be receiving, in Islamabad, the Star of Pakistan -- Sitara-e-Pakistan -- a civil award in recognition of gallantry or distinction, and one rarely given to foreigners.

Congratulations, Greg. Well-deserved!


200th anniversary ...

It was on this date in 1809 that Louis Braille was born in France. An accident with his father's awl at the age of three led to his blindness. Ironically, Louis - years later, at the age of 15 - used his father's stitching awl to illustrate how unique combinations of six raised dots could be utilized to represent each letter in the alphabet.

This Spring, according to Wiki, a commemorative silver dollar will be introduced with the respective one dollar denomination written on the coin in braille.

College football (continued)

I have decided to try and finish this recap of my extreme interest in college football while the 'bowl season' is still under way. How can it possibly still be 'under way', for crying out loud?!?

Ah, but yes it is, with the "Fiesta Bowl" scheduled to be played this coming Monday evening, January 5th, between Texas and Ohio State.

I remember - from many years back now, you understand - when the only bowl games were the Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Cotton ... when the Rose Bowl - the 'granddaddy of them all', was the featured attraction on New Year's Day, and the two contestants/combatants were the champions of the Big Ten and Pacific Coast Conferences. For a glance at the history of the Rose Bowl, go here.


In those days, it was unheard of for a member of the 'Big Ten' to compete post-season other than in the Rose Bowl. I don't know when, exactly, the restrictions were changed, but - obviously - they were!


Northwestern was the 'weak sister' of the conference. (That's the truth. Hope I don't offend any Northwestern alumni here. Their primary focus was not on athletics, but rather on academics. Duh! As well it should have been, wouldn't you agree?)

There were many intra-conference rivalries. Ours (Purdue's) was primarily with Illinois. (Indiana University's focus was on swimming and basketball.) In fact, I remember one Purdue homecoming banner that read, "Hit 'em in the buttkus" (or some such) ... Dick Butkus was a soon-to-be All-American linebacker (at least, I think he was a linebacker, and a fiercesome one, at that!) for the opposition.


A huge rivalry existed between Purdue and Notre Dame. I guess Notre Dame is still considered an 'independent', altho I really haven't kept up with all of the changes these past many years.


When Bob (Griese) was a senior, he was selected an All-American over Terry Hanratty, Notre Dame's quarterback. I will remember 'forever' (I guess, because I still remember it now, 50 or so years later!) a newscaster saying, "Well! If Bob Griese is an All-American, then I guess Terry Hanratty should be considered All-World!"

That comment incensed me! I was particularly disturbed by it because Bob's first wish had been to attend Notre Dame as a student on an athletic scholarship (which was withdrawn just days prior to his enrolling ... Notre Dame's loss, Purdue's gain!).


The Purdue Boilermakers were the 'heart attack' kids. If you were a fan at all, and/or were even the least bit subject to palpitations of the heart, ANY game you attended (or even watched, for that matter!) was at your own risk.

My 400th

It's been almost a year since I first began blogging - January 10, 2008, to be precise. This is my 400th post. I thought, as the numbers inched ever closer to that figure, that the timing might be perfect for both to fall on the same date. But alas, such a thing was not to be.

My first milestone (the 100th) occurred on May 8th, when I published "In my perfect world ... ...". This one was kind of a challenge, but a lot of fun. In exactly 100 words, I listed some of the things that I thought would be included in my utopia.

"An introspective", published on July 27th, was my 200th. In this one I attempted to share with you a more intimate glimpse of "Goldenrod" - what I like and dislike, some of my interests, and various idiosyncrasies of my personality. I tried to include details you might not already have read about in previous posts.

On October 15, 2008, I published my 300th, "Here, there, and everywhere". It was a 'bits & pieces' or 'scattered thoughts' type of post, which I thought was appropriate for an anniversary because that's what "Goldenrod's thoughts" is all about - no particular focus, no central theme or topic. In fact, I wrote, "I'm all over the place!"


So, what have I decided to do for my 400th? Other than the fact that it's being published on the 1st day of a brand new year, there's nothing particularly 'special' about it. However, I have a specific topic in mind ... football!

College football, what with all of the bowl game hype going on right now (Capital One, Gator, Orange, and Rose Bowls are all being played today), is at the forefront of many people's minds, and I'd like to take you back to the 60's, when I was living in West Lafayette, Indiana and attending Purdue University part-time as a graduate student while teaching full-time.


The year was 1966. I'd always loved football, even played it some as a kid. Always with boys, of course ... no other girls were remotely interested in such a thing! Liked a lot of other sports as well, but I'm going to write exclusively today about football.

Those were the 'golden years' of Purdue football (imo), when a young fellow named Bob Griese was the quarterback. He not only was the mastermind of the team's offense, he also kicked off and attempted their field goals! (Did any of you happen to know that little tidbit?)

[I actually met him and had the opportunity to talk with him several times when we were both students there. It would have been while I was going to visit my husband in the lab, probably. Perhaps Bob was an engineering student? I don't remember. What I DO remember, however, was how self-effacing he was. No bmoc attitude.]


I went to every game that year. The Boilermakers were having a great season, and it looked like they might even be invited to go to the Rose Bowl for their first time ever. It was exciting! Except for the game against Minnesota, I drove. I came very close to missing that one! Drove to Crown Point, where I dropped my daughter off at my in-laws, and then continued on to O'Hare Airport in Chicago, where I looked frantically for a spot to park the car.

Finally found one, shoved my feet into fur-lined and waterproofed nylon boots, grabbed all my gear (lots and lots of warm stuff, including an afghan that I had knit), made sure I had my ticket, and RAN all the way into the terminal. Once inside, I began shouting for directions to the gate. Kept running and screaming whenever I needed more directions. It must have appeared as tho I was a crazy woman.

I didn't dare look at any clocks. I just kept running. I got to the gate just as the stewardess was closing the doors! Found my seat and collapsed. I don't think I stopped gasping for air and breathing hard for another ten or fifteen minutes. Boy, that was close!


For the game against the University of Michigan, my brother got us seats in the middle of their student cheering section. Can you imagine such a thing? Well, he did! In those days, anyone who was extremely obnoxious was in danger of being passed overhead on outstretched hands and arms to the top of the stadium and then summarily dropped to the ground outside.

Are you familiar with that stadium? It's a complete oval and is set into a hill. So, depending on where your seat was, the drop could have been anywhere from just a few feet to many! (I believe that practice was outlawed some years ago after one incident where a dropee sustained severe injuries.)

Well, I was there to cheer for my team and cheer for my team I did. My brother did his best to shush me. When that didn't work, he tried to hide under his seat. A pretty tough maneuver when you're 6'3"!

All of Purdue's games against Michigan were played in their stadium. Why? Money, of course! You know, that green stuff? Our stadium only seated a little over 62,000, theirs 100,000. Ticket, as well as broadcast, revenues were shared between each school.


The upshot of this whole story is that Purdue did go to the Rose Bowl. Guess who won?


Many people told me later that they had searched for me in the stands at that Rose Bowl game and finally found me. I'm pretty sure I was so unthinking as to tell them that I wasn't there. Certainly, I could have described the game in great detail. We were glued to our television set the whole time.

Initially I had planned to go, but we had just relocated to Columbus, Ohio, and there was a lot of settling in to do.


I'm nowhere near the end of talking about Purdue's 'glory days' in football, but that'll have to do it for this post. If I'm in the same mood tomorrow, I'll continue. Otherwise, you can look forward to another segment about this same time next year!