Show Notes Episode 155: Every Word Matters
/Today on our show, we bring you a story by Laurie Eynon. This story is a behind-the-scenes Jeopardy! audition revealed and a good lesson in how every word matters. And the voice of the narrator is amazing. So good!!! Laurie takes us through her one chance at becoming a Jeopardy! champion and what happened.
Laurie Eynon is a hospital and hospice chaplain in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was a regular contributor to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Sunday section, wrote a play that was produced off-off Broadway, and has been published in the HuffPost and Christian Science Monitor. Laurie Eynon watches Jeopardy! every night.
Writing Class Radio is hosted by Allison Langer and Andrea Askowitz. Audio production by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski, and Aiden Glassey at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music is by Marnino Toussaint.
There’s more writing class on our website including stories we study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon.
If you want to write with us every week, you can join our First Draft weekly writers groups. You have the option to join Allison on Tuesdays 12-1 ET and/or Thursdays with Eduardo Winck 8-9pm ET. You’ll write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you’re a business owner, community activist, group that needs healing, entrepreneur and you want to help your team write better, check out all the classes we offer on our website, writingclassradio.com.
Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio. Or sign up HERE for First Draft for a FREE Zoom link.
Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers.
A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY.
There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?
If you would like a transcript of the episode read below:
0:00:18 - Speaker 2
I'm Andrea Askoitz, I'm Allison Langer, and this is Writing Class Radio. You'll hear true personal stories and learn how to write your own stories. Together, we produce this podcast, which is equal parts heart and art. By heart we mean the truth in a story, and by art we mean the craft of writing. No matter what's going on in our lives, writing Class is where we tell the truth. It's where we work out our pooooop. There's no place in the world like Writing Class, and we want to bring you in Today on our show.
0:00:50 - Speaker 4
We bring you a story by Laurie Eynon. This story is a behind the scenes situation revealed. Laurie takes us through her one chance at becoming a Jeopardy champion. We don't want to say too much about what happened, but what I will say is that this story is a really charming and fun, heavily voicy, voicy story, and I think it's really about how every word matters.
0:01:22 - Speaker 2
Back with Laurie's story after the break. For anyone interested in improving your writing, first draft, weekly's Writers Group is for you. It's Tuesdays 12 to 1 Eastern time and Thursday nights 8 to 9 Eastern time. I teach the one on Tuesday and Eduardo Wink teaches the one. Actually, I wouldn't say teach, facilitates that group on Thursday night, because it is a group, it's a community. We come together to write for 30 minutes, share what we wrote, get feedback and leave inspired. First session always free.
Otherwise $35 a month. That gives you eight full sessions a month. If you are interested in joining first draft, jump on Patreon slash Writing Class radio.
0:02:08 - Speaker 4
A famous writer called Alison Langer once said you'll never know how great your writing is, unless you share it at first draft.
0:02:16 - Speaker 2
I love when you quote me. We're back. This is Allison Langer and you're listening to Writing Class Radio. Here's Laurie Eynon reading her story What Can't You Say on Jeopardy?
0:03:19 - Speaker 5
I'm not brainy in the Stephen Hawking kind of way, but I do have an exceptional ability to quickly access information stored in the recesses of my brain. The six wives of Henry, the Eighth Baltic Capital Cities Martin Scorsese movies call it a gift. It got me excellent grades in school, even in subjects like chemistry where I had no idea what the professor was talking about, but I could memorize atomic numbers and carbon shames to regurgitate on a test. Ever since I was in grade school, I prided myself on being the smartest kid in the room. Maybe I could be a little show-offy about it, but I basked in recognition of my brain power. You could call me pretty or kind or funny, but nothing was as satisfying as calling me smart. However, my idetic memory had brought me neither fortune nor fame as I thought it might. All that was about to change when I qualified to attend an in-person audition for the TV game show Jeopardy. Friends and family had long told me I should be on the show, and though I would mutter a ma-comble oh gee, I don't know I knew in my heart I could be the next Ken Jennings. My invitation to try out for the show was the result of passing an online test. All this happened pre-pandemic. Nowadays the process is done online, but at the time the next level tryouts were held in various metropolitan areas around the country.
I went to Washington DC At a fancy DC hotel. In the audition room about 50 other people were also waiting for their chance to say mammals for 200 pleas. We mingled about introducing ourselves and making small talk. I was mildly intimidated by my competitors lawyers, lobbyists, scientists. I m a hospital chaplain, a fact which at least caused the room to take notice of me. As this is not a profession. Often, if ever, represented on the show, I gave myself a pep talk. Okay, so he s a microbiologist, but how much does he know about opera? The Jeopardy team walked in and cheerfully congratulated us on making it this far.
We began by taking a long and comprehensive written test covering everything from the location of the CN Tower, toronto, to the name of Beyonce s first child, blue Ivy. I almost knew every answer. We took a break while our tests were graded In the restroom. I chatted with one of the coordinators as we washed our hands at the sink. You did very well, she said. I was stoked.
Back in the test room, we were called up three at a time, to play a mock version of the game, complete with buzzers and the iconic blue screen. I was in the very first group called. I decided it was a sign. Maybe it meant that I had the highest score on the written test. I walked to the front of the room, buzzer in hand, with two other contestant wannabes. The screen lit up with the categories and dollar amounts. First up was famous names for $100. This pioneer nurse founded a hospital at Andersonville Prison Camp during the Civil War.
Eager to show my stuff, i buzzed in immediately and responded confidently Who is Florence Nightingale? That's incorrect, said the host. I was wrong. Then the microbiologist hit his button. Who was Clara Barton?
I uttered a frustrated and spontaneous poop, poop. The word hung in the air. Play stopped. Everyone looked at me.
One of the coordinators said without a hint of compassion or irony one does not say poop on jeopardy. Most jeopardy contestants are fairly expressionless, neither rejoicing nor disparaging over their answers. This wasn't Wheel of Fortune, after all, where contestants frequently scream with delight and do end zone dances behind their podium. I apologized and fumbled for my composure. Note to self rain in your natural animation. The next answer was red and I tensed. I felt nervous. My brain was not in the moment. My confident I got this persona evaporated. Even when I managed to give a few correct answers, my buzzer was hesitant, my voice weak and strangled. I was so fearful of making another error and uttering another, maybe worse, expletive. I overcompensated in an attempt to make up for my poop faux pas.
Well, i wasn't called to be on the show. It took me exactly one question to take myself out of the running. My dream of becoming the next Ken Jennings was dashed. I felt deflated. I'd not get to show off in front of a national TV audience. The smartest kid in the room had to tell all the people she had alerted about her Jeopardy tryout that no, she did not qualify. I still watch Jeopardy Like the true fan I am. I still curse at the contestants When not one of them knows the badger is the state animal of Wisconsin or that Thomas Hardy wrote tests of the Durbervilles. Sometimes, after I make a particularly stunning run of correct answers while watching the show, my husband will turn to me and bemoan the fact that I would be famous if I'd only kept my mouth shut. Yeah, maybe I'm waiting for a category called four letter words. Up on the blue screen would appear palindrome meaning excrement. I know what to say.
0:09:49 - Speaker 4
Okay, so definitely my favorite thing about this story is her voice, just even her like, like the sound of her voice, the tone of her voice, her funniness. everything about her voice is so was so charming.
0:10:04 - Speaker 2
I wrote the exact same thing Voice, voice, voice. Oh gee, I don't know. I was stoked Rain in your natural animation. I just thought that was so good. She's such a likable narrator, like who likes smart people. You know, like these people going into jeopardy are usually so pompous, but she's so not.
0:10:23 - Speaker 4
True. Also, what I really loved about her in terms of like likable narrator is she told us that she's always the smartest in the room. I loved hearing that. How often do women say that? Never.
0:10:40 - Speaker 2
Well, I've never said it.
0:10:42 - Speaker 4
Good reason, Sure don't say that anymore. No, you're the smartest in the room, but you're also the only one in your room.
0:10:52 - Speaker 2
Exactly. Well, now I'm in the room with you and Matt, our producer.
0:10:56 - Speaker 4
But we're all at our own rooms, though, since we're on, yeah, we're all the smartest. So I love that. She said that. I just that is. I am cheering for her from the start with that. That was good. What I think is so interesting is like every word matters, like that's one of our writing tips Every word matters, like every word in a story really has to belong in that story or take it out, and what I love is that in this case, it's like a life lesson and a writing lesson, because the word poop mattered. That was the one word that mattered. I love that. I love that about the story. Yeah, it was so good, It was charming. Let me see what else. Oh, what does idetic mean?
0:11:42 - Speaker 2
Whoops, I needed to look that up. You're asking somebody not on Jeopardy. I'm sure Ken Jennings knows I need to look that up before we started. Yeah, maybe photographic. Maybe she remembers everything Like a memory that just retains.
0:11:57 - Speaker 4
Yeah, that would be what I think, Yeah, My idetic memory had not brought me fame. Anyway, that's funny. What else I loved is like mammals for 200, please Like. She used the language of Jeopardy throughout. I don't know if everyone knows the language of Jeopardy, I don't know if you have to know it to feel like excited by it, but I do know it. So excited me. The blue screen. She really explained Jeopardy in a way that brought me in The end also. I thought the end was so like For sure, Again she's using the language of Jeopardy and then she says let me go to it. She says I'm waiting for a category called four letter words. Did you know it?
0:12:45 - Speaker 2
was coming. Did I know it was coming? only because I've read this a couple of times? I did, But when I first read it because I was like, what is the story about? What is the story about? Is it more than a situation? And I mean I'm not sure, because do we know how losing affected her life? Does she know how she's changed? Do we know any of that? It's very subtle.
0:13:08 - Speaker 4
Yeah, that's true, she actually makes a joke out of it in the end, and I really did like the joke. So up on the blue screen would appear palindrome, meaning excrement. So then her word.
0:13:22 - Speaker 2
But yeah, I get what you're saying, so maybe it's telling us that next time. So I've learned that when you're on a show you have to follow their rules or you're out.
0:13:34 - Speaker 4
But I do want to talk about this for a second. What are the stakes? I mean the stakes in this case are she lost or she didn't lose, but she didn't get to participate?
0:13:45 - Speaker 2
To me, the stakes were everybody has always said you should go on Jeopardy, you should go on Jeopardy. So they've made assumptions about her that she's extremely smart and can win. So yes, she's extremely smart. She got all the way to the show but she didn't get on. So does she feel like somewhere she failed? It's great that she has a word that she can say well, I fucked up here. So maybe in the end it's like she never got to really see if she could be the next Ken Jennings. but she kind of has an excuse and can now make a joke of how she may really be feeling, which we don't know. Yeah, maybe.
0:14:24 - Speaker 4
Or not, Or maybe this is just a later story. It's not a life or death story. She's not going to live or die based on whether or not she wins. I don't think that she really cares about getting written famous. And how written famous would she have gotten right if she were on the show? A couple million dollars can change your life.
0:14:46 - Speaker 2
Is that how much you would win. You can win that. Yeah, there's some of these people who have won. I mean you gotta be like Holtz Hauer or whatever his name is. I mean he's on now on this master's champion. It's crazy. But I mean these guys, i don't even know how they're so smart. It's crazy how they know.
0:15:02 - Speaker 4
But the truth is she didn't set it up that she was destitute and needed this money. No, so she was just saying I understood like rich and famous as kind of like a yay, i could become rich and famous if I went on Jeopardy, but if I don't win on Jeopardy I'm not gonna be. I'll still be fine. You know poor and no one's gonna know me ever. Yeah.
0:15:22 - Speaker 2
So she doesn't have her whole self worth and value wrapped up into this. It was just something fun And now she moves on with her life and she, you know, tried it and that's the end of it. So it could be that It could be more, we don't know.
0:15:34 - Speaker 4
But what I like about the story is that it's like it's so charming and it's so fun to listen to And we learn about Jeopardy and we hear this like, ah, this faux palm moment, you know like dang it. And I totally relate to doing shit like that. I mean poop like that And I don't know I get it Shit. Oh yeah, we should say that at the beginning. It's where we work out our whoop. Whoop Doesn't sound as, but anyway. So I love that about this story. Like every story doesn't have to be about like drugs and death and It's true, it's a nice light one.
0:16:15 - Speaker 2
All right, thank you for listening and thank you, Laurie Eynon, for sharing your story with us. She likes the pain.
0:16:23 - Speaker 1
I love eating. I don't get jaded. I work too hard. I wanna be famous. I never let my guard down. I think what happened was I thought it bring us happiness.
0:16:45 - Speaker 2
Writing Class Radio is hosted by me, alison Langer, and me, andrea Askowitz. Audio production by Matt Cundle, evan Serminsky, chloe Emont Lane and Aiden Glassy at the Sound Off Media Company. Be music by Marnino Toussaint. There's more Writing Class on our website, writingclassradiocom, including stories we study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats and live online classes. Join our community by following us on Patreon. If you wanna write with us every week, you can join our First Draft Weekly Writers Group. You have the option to join me on Tuesdays 12 to one Eastern time, and we have a new First Draft option, which is Thursday nights 8 to 9 pm Eastern with Eduardo Wink. You'll write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you are a business odor, entrepreneur, community activist or a group that needs healing and wanna help your team write better, we can help. Check out all the classes we offer on our website, writingclassradiocom. Join the community that comes together for instruction and excuse to write and, most importantly, the support from other writers. A new episode will drop every other Wednesday.
0:17:57 - Speaker 4
There's no better way to understand ourselves than each other than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What's yours?
0:18:07 - Speaker 1
Big breaks to the back. We gon' get that Shining like I was a ghetto bird. I don't wanna leave the ghetto birds, but so that.
0:18:17 - Speaker 2
I need ya. Produced and distributed by the Sound Off Media Company.
0:18:25 - Speaker 3
Women of ill repute. That's our podcast And we think it's a compliment, cause it is a compliment. Who wants to be boring and follow other people's rules? So we listen to others and there's lots of podcasts for comedians. they sound like journalists these days, and now on our podcast we've got a journalist and a comedian me, wendy Mesley, and my pal Maureen Holloway. You can guess who's a comedian. We team up for smart talk with some brave women, or maybe it's brave talk with smart women. Anyway, women of ill repute. You decide It's a comedy show or journalism. So you can check us out on Apple Podcasts, google Podcasts, spotify or at womenofillreputecom.
