Remember That

Alex Trebek was doing his thing, hosting the game show Jeopardy for the umpteenth time, keeping on despite his terminal cancer diagnosis because it is who he is and what he does. Even if hosting a game show may be a rather minor accomplishment, all things considered, Alex is devoted to it because it has been his identity for decades. Actually, I was never very fond of Alex’s hosting abilities. I thought he frequently failed to engage effectively with contestants when he tried to make small talk with them between competition sessions. Alex: “So, you shaved your head in your sleep?” Contestant: “Yes, Alex. I always wanted to shave my head, but my parents objected. So I pretended to be asleep and shaved it. Then I went back to bed.” Alex: “Good for you” (Moving on to the next contestant). And often when a contestant answered a question incorrectly, Alex would appear to quietly chastise them for their stupidity, announcing the correct response in a manner that seemed to indicate that everyone should know that. Now, of course, Alex had the correct answer written out for him on a card that he held in his hand. He might not find it so easy to come up with it if he had to rack his brain for it.

But I don’t want to be too tough on Alex. The truth is he is a pretty good guy. Maybe the best indication of this came when a contestant stated that he was a big fan of the satirical Second City Television show that originated in Canada, Alex’s home country. Alex immediately mentioned that the cast had done a spot-on takeoff of Jeopardy entitled Halfwits and that it was his favorite segment. Comedian Eugene Levy appeared as a mustachioed “Alex Trebel” with John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, and Joe Flaherty acting as contestants who were completely incapable of coming up with a correct answer no matter how many questions Alex offered them. Alex became increasingly frustrated, eventually railing at their ignorance while the audience began to heckle him for his intemperance. The skit ended with Alex pulling off his sport coat and going after the heckler. It was good to see that Alex Trebek didn’t take himself too seriously, that he had a sense of humor and was gracious.

Which brings me to a few recent episodes of Jeopardy. The contestants were asked to identify individuals after viewing a photograph of them. A picture of Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) flashed on the screen. Nobody, including the current champion, was able to identify him. OK, so not everybody is following the impeachment hearings closely. And so what if Schiff is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee that conducted proceedings leading to Trump’s impeachment? Even if the champion had just correctly identified the easternmost city on the west coast of Mexico, that doesn’t mean that she is well-versed in politics, right? Everybody has weak areas where they are not very knowledgeable. And it’s entirely possible that the other two contestants were not educated in current political activity either, even if that included the imminent impeachment of the President of the United States.

The next day, however, Alex put up on the screen a picture of the immortal baseball pitcher Satchel Paige. And no one, including the champion, was able to identify him either. Now this was Satchel Paige for chrissake! Maybe the greatest man to ever hurl a baseball from a pitcher’s mound! The man who intentionally loaded the bases, called in all his outfielders, and proceeded to strike out the next three batters. A man so talented that, after being banned from the major leagues because of his race, was finally admitted at the age of 50 or so (no one was ever sure of Satchel’s real age) and proceeded to make the All-Star Team.

Not only was Satchel Paige a great athlete, he was also a man of outstanding wisdom. When asked if he threw pitches that were illegal he replied, “I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I toss one that ain’t never been seen by this generation.” When other pitchers asked the venerable Paige for advice on the art of pitching, he always dispensed invaluable gems: “Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don’t move.” Satchel wasn’t reluctant to reveal the system of thought that supported his athletic endeavors either: “My pitching philosophy is simple – keep the ball away from the bat.” And here was a man fully capable of appreciating and properly characterizing the skill of his talented teammates in the Negro Leagues where he spent the majority of his career. Of the speedy centerfielder Cool Papa Bell, Satchel said, “He could turn off the light switch and be under the covers before the room got dark.” But perhaps the most valuable piece of information ever tossed out by Satchel related to the necessity of always focusing on what was ahead of you, and worrying not about anything else: “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”

Now clearly this was an unforgettable figure, a man who has rightfully claimed his spot in American History as an outstanding athlete, philosopher, and orator. Yet no one on the Jeopardy panel was able to identify him? Incredible! And, in this case, I must admit, Alex Trebek would have been entirely justified in providing the answer in a manner that communicated to the contestants, “You got to be friggin’ kidding!”