Yesterday was a sad day as I heard of the passing of Alex Trebek.

I have watched Jeopardy! on and off for many years, but in recent years have been a regular viewer. Especially since I have not been traveling.

Watching Jeopardy! brings back so many memories, and also helps me fill in the many gaps in my knowledge. It is often the inspiration for blog posts as sometimes the questions get my mind wandering.

Alex Trebek has been hosting the show for a very long time. In fact, I was still in High School when he started hosting his over 8,000 episodes. At that time there was a resurgence in trivia and academic contests across the nation and that even involved me.

I really enjoyed the 20/20 special last night about Alex Trebek, it was a fitting tribute to him.

There are still episodes to be aired that will take the show through most of December and I look forward to watching many of them. Especially the last episode, I imagine that it will be one of the most watched episodes once it airs.

There was also a small tribute to him before the show tonight.

Earlier this year I read Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings. This was a great book that covered the history of trivia and also his run as Jeopardy! champion.

The book covered the resurgence of Trivia in the 80’s, and that resurgence brought new contests to our corner of Kansas.

I remember a call in quiz competition on our new Public Radio station. It was really cool to listen to the radio and see if I could answer the questions.

In school I was able to compete in the Academic Olympics at Pratt Community College for three years. One year I even won a gold medal in the competition.

I also was on the Quiz Bowl team. It was great to compete against other schools, including some of the bigger schools in the region.

I have some great memories of spending time with my teammates on our trips. This also brings back memories of Mr. Long who was our guidance counselor and also  my neighbor as he lived across the street from us.

Jeopardy! always makes my mind wander.

Thanks for the memories Alex!

Steven