You’re sending me where?

Many, many (and maybe another many) years ago my wife and I were quite surprised to hear the announcer on ABC’s “The Dating Game” tell a segment winner, “You and your date are going to the Four States Fair and Rodeo in Texarkana, Texas!” 

We both said, “What? They’re sending her where?”

As a regional fair, the Four States one is okay. And these days, the event is held on a fairgrounds on the Arkansas side of Texarkana. Still, my wife and I were humored to hear a trip to the fair awarded on a national television program.

I’m still waiting for a segment of Wheel of Fortune Prize Puzzle category “What are you doing?” and the answer is “Dodging earthquake debris” and the prize is announced with “That’s right, Ralph! You will be dodging that earthquake debris at the Rodham Hotel and Casino in Port-au-Prince, Haiti Enjoy poolside dinners of bananas and rice while pieces of concrete splash into the Olympic-size swimming pool! View robberies from your patio as local criminals grab purses and watches from unsuspecting tourists! Converse with bureaucrats from Non-Governmental Organizations as overpaid Europeans, staying in luxury hotels, decide which people will receive subsistence allowances!”