This week's Jeopardy champ graduated from my high school

He was a year ahead of me.

It was weird. I had Jeopardy on, but was in my kitchen cooking dinner (i.e. putting water on to boil for my macaroni and cheese). Suddenly I heard Alex Trebek introduce “Tad Carithers from Atlanta.” “I recognize that name!” I thought. I looked closely at the TV screen, but had trouble figuring out if it was the Tad Carithers I knew from high school or not, since I hadn’t seen him in 13 years. After studying one of my high school annuals, and comparing his picture to the guy who was on my TV winning lots of money, I was able to confirm in my head that the Jeopardy champ and the ringer from my high school Scholars’ Bowl team are one and the same. I wonder if he’d lend me some of the his winnings for auto/home repairs. Shyeah, right.

I saw my Jr High School Guidance Counselor on “Famiily Feud” around 1980.

Don’t recall whether or not her family won, though.

So did he belong in the chess club? The math club? The chemistry club? Was he the school’s representative to Knowledge Bowl? Was he voted “Most likely to use his brains to make lots of money someday”?

That was the laugh I needed before going to sleep… Thanks…