Phone-a-Friend

I was one of five possible Phone-a-Friends for a taping today of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

I had actually been on standby five hours-plus yesterday--during which time I was also waiting for cable repair--but my friend didn't get on until today.

I get a heads-up call when he's about to go on the hot seat: "Stay where you are and disable the answering machine. Wait three rings, then answer 'Hello.'"

I basically stand in my room glancing at the clock on my VCR for an hour, keeping my limbs loose, my mind clear, ready to call up the tiniest trivia.

Finally, the call comes: "Gerald, you're free to go."

I wonder how Meredith Viera would have sounded on my phone. I wonder if I would have known the answer. I wonder how my friend did.