Oh, the conversations Wheel of Fortune can spawn

My eight-year-old's favorite TV show is Wheel of Fortune.  Usually, I suffer in silence as she and the three-year-old ooh and ah over how many thousands of sparkles emanate from the dress Vanna White is wearing and marvel at Pat Sajak's toupee of the night (allegedly).  I don't want to cause any nucuelar (as some of the folks around here say) explosions by protesting the inane show, and sometimes I take comfort and smile when I hear my daughter openly rooting for contestants to land on 'Bankrupt.' 

Then there are nights like tonight, when Wheel provides a bounty of comedic booty.  One of the contestants hailed from Ringgold, Georgia, close to the hometown of yours truly.

8-year-old: "Hey 3-year-old, you know where he's from?  He's lives close to exit 349 off of I-75.  You know, as we're going to Nana and Papa's?  (explanation: the 8-year-old is high functioning autistic, so she knows every exit on every interstate between here and Trenton, Georgia)

3-year-old: "Wow, really?"

8YO: "Yeah.  It's one of the last exits before the Tennessee state line."

Dad: "You know, your cousin Josh teaches at a high school pretty close to Ringgold."

8YO: "Really?  What does he teach?"

Dad: "Considering the high school, he's a doctor of thugonomics."

8YO: "Oh."

Dad: "And of cheerleading and evolution of the dance."

8YO: "Wow.  He's a doctor?"  (Sorry Josh :))


The next contestant was from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

8YO: "Wow, Wisconsin."

Dad: "You do know the most important thing to hail from Green Bay, Wisconsin don't you?"

8YO: "The Packers football team?"

Dad: "Well.....actually, I was thinking...."

Dad: "Oh, and the Packers, too."