My Experience on a Game Show, Part 6 - Our Last Day in New York

So, here we were.  I was a big fat loser in New York City.  I had blown my big chance.  And it all seemed so unfair!  My answer wasn't wrong.



As Linda and I started our Thursday in New York City, this is exactly how I was feeling.  I was still pretty far down on myself.  And no one could blame me.  Trust me, I already had the $32,000 spent - not even the million! I was going to get a new car for myself - I was driving a '92 LeSabre at the time - and also a new dishwasher.  I didn't have extravagant dreams.

Wait a minute.  We're in New York City.  And we're still on Disney's dime!!!  Our flight back to Rochester was an evening flight, so the car wasn't going to come get us until late afternoon.  So, we went out and  tried to enjoy the city as much as we could!

Our first stop was FAO Schwarz.  The greatest toy store in the world.  I was sad that I really couldn't afford to buy anything in there (I had just lost on a game show, after all), but you can't help but smile when you're there.  What a fun store, with so many toys to see!  I was like a kid in a toy store.... oh... wait.

We also went to Rockefeller Center - because we needed to see that - but there's not much to see without the skating rink, which as I recall wasn't in service.... because it was July!  We then turned our attention to another New York City landmark, Macy's.  Macy's was interesting.  I felt like I was putting my life in my own hands there.  The escalators were old and seemed to be hand-cranked.  It was really crowded.  And there were a lot of displays for Regis Philbin's ties everywhere.  Way to help me get over my failures, Macy's.  Thanks a lot for that.

I would return to New York City, and Macy's, several years later.  I did enjoy the store a lot more that time, although I had a different experience that time, with young children and very tiny bathrooms.  Oh, that was a terribly stinky time.  Maybe I didn't really enjoy Macy's, ever....  At any rate, this time, I was in a terrible mood, and so we left pretty quickly.

We figured it was time for us to finally eat something.  We stopped at a little coffee shop - not Starbucks - about two blocks from our hotel, and had coffee and a sandwich.  Linda had water and a sandwich.  And it was really good and reasonably priced.  I wish I remember what the place was called - I know a lot of my readers will want to know where there is a reasonably priced coffee shop in Manhattan! - but I don't.  I know it was close to Columbus Circle.

For those who know the city, you know this all means that my poor pregnant wife and I did an awful lot of walking.  We also did a lot of talking.  About how what happened to me on the game show, between the missed dinner and Nick Meyer and losing in that fashion, sucked.  And about how we were in New York City, and we had a free short vacation, expenses paid.  And about how we had a great story to tell and our big upcoming party to watch the first episode!

And now we had a good lunch.  We walked back toward the hotel, to see Lincoln Center - our hotel was literally on its front steps. But we got sidetracked by someone at a cafe right near our hotel.  Someone who knew my name and called for me.

Nick Meyer.

He heard what had happened to me - he was not in the studio for it, as far as I knew - and so I felt safe telling him what happened in the hot seat, and how I could hear the entire argument.  And how I was sorry that he had missed his question.  He wasn't at all upset about it.  He was there for the experience, not the money.  (He was a bit more affluent than I was).  His perspective helped me down a path I was already on.

All in all, I had a good conversation with Nick.  Like I said, I liked the guy, with the exception of the time he spent in the Hot Seat.  My wife, whose bladder was still spasming slightly from the marathon she endured at his hands the day before, did not hold him in such high regard.  I can't say I blame her, or anyone in that studio, for disliking him so.  I just didn't.

I didn't keep in touch with any of my fellow contestants.  I might go back now and look them all up on Facebook.  I have tried to track down Nick Meyer already, with little success.  It turns out that Nick Meyer is a pretty common name.

Our conversation, unfortunately, coupled with our longer-than-expected walk back, axed our visit to Lincoln Center.  Instead, we grabbed our bags - stashed at the front desk of the Empire Hotel (we had checked out because we had to in the morning) and caught our car back to Laguardia.  And our flight back to Rochester.

I looked out at the city, and the tall buildings as we left.  I had some regrets that we did not visit the World Trade Center - regrets that would be much greater a year later - but all in all knew that my experience was tremendous.  I resolved at that point that I would do everything in my power to get back to New York.