Thank You, Rupert

When Shaun and I first decided to try escaping to New York while my parents are visiting we submitted a request for tickets to see a taping of The Late Show with David Letterman. You just fill in a form online giving your name, phone number and the dates you'd like to attend a taping, and then you get a nice little message stating that someone might call you. Or they might not. And if they do call you it could be at any time between the date of your ticket request and the date of the actual taping. Oh yeah, and you'll be required to correctly answer a trivia question before they'll actually give you tickets. Hmm. Okay.

In the two months since we requested tickets I totally forgot that we actually requested them until yesterday morning. I was on my way out the door when I looked at my cell phone and saw a missed call from the night before with a 212 area code. Now, most people that have spent time in the Northeast U.S. or that just spend a lot of time watching television know that a 212 area code on your caller ID means that someone is calling from a New York City phone number.

My first thought was, "Who's calling me from New York? And why would a telemarketer go to the trouble to call Canada?"

Then I heard the voicemail message. "Betsy, this is The Late Show with David Letterman..."

The voice went on to tell me that if we were still interested in tickets for this coming Wednesday night we should call back ASAP and be prepared to correctly answer a trivia question about The Late Show. Oh crap. The trivia question. We like watching Letterman, but the show doesn't air until the butt crack of dawn in Newfoundland, so we haven't seen it in over a year and a half. Thank God my phone was set on vibrate, and that woman had to leave me a message! There's no way I could have answered a trivia question without preparation.

"Shaun! We got called for Letterman tickets but we have to answer a trivia question! Get on Google!" I yelled.

Shaun Googled The Late Show, Letterman, Letterman trivia questions, and prepared himself with several open internet browsers. He then called The Late Show back... and was forced to leave a message. He commented that he wasn't going to be as prepared to answer the question now that it would involve a callback. Would his call be returned the same day? It was a Saturday. Would we have to be on guard all weekend? Until Monday even?

Then the phone rang yesterday afternoon. And the trivia question we were hoping for was asked. The question that popped up several times when we Googled 'Letterman trivia questions.' What kind of business does Dave's neighbor Rupert own? A deli!

Shaun gave the correct answer, and now he and I are on our way to Letterman on Wednesday.

I'm not sure if we're excited to see Letterman or if we're just excited to have scored tickets. These Late Show people are on to something. The official story is that Dave likes to ensure he's got actual fans of the show in the audience, and that's why they ask a trivia question before granting tickets. I think it's more likely that they're just trying to make sure you'll show up. Phone tag and trivia questions make you feel like you've actually won something.

Anyway, if you're hanging around watching TV on Wednesday night see if you can spot us in the audience. It should be a good show. Ricky Gervais and turkey callers. Who doesn't love a good turkey call? At least Ricky Gervais should be funny, right?