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Getting the call is priceless

A St. Petersburg woman who has been a fan of The Price is Right for 34 years lives a dream onstage with host Bob Barker.

By CHASE SQUIRES
Published November 29, 2005

Cathrine Washington waited her whole adult life to hear those words.

And when Rich Fields' voice boomed above her, when she heard her name, it was a dream come true.

"Cathrine Washington, come on down!"

Washington, 57, has been a lot of things: mom, grandma, Army reservist, and for the past 23 years, St. Petersburg firefighter. And through it all, she has been a Price Is Right fan. A big fan.

The kind of fan who treks across the country just to sit in the audience. Twice. The kind of fan who knows how every game on the show works - the Card Game, the Dice Game, Hi Lo, Hit Me, Half Off.

It was on her second pilgrimage, in October, when the voice from the sky made her life complete. In Los Angeles for a Price is Right taping, she was summoned to her destiny, onstage, with (dare to dream) Bob Barker.

The show airs at 11 a.m. today on WTSP-Ch. 10.

"I've been a Price is Right fan for 34 years. The show's been on for 34 years. That tells you how long I've been a fan," Washington said, laughing. "I was watching it when they had Pintos on as a prize and they were for something like $500. Five hundred dollars for a car!"

She got hooked when her mother, Lizzie Daniels, started watching.

Though she can go on about The Price is Right , Washington is shy when it comes to talking about herself. Leave that to Lt. Scott Zweifel at the fire department. He could not say enough about Washington's work with the Station 4 Technical Rescue Team.

"She's so enthusiastic about every moment of her life, and she's a big player on the team," he said. "It just thrills us to death that all this got to happen for her."

Besides being a licensed practical nurse, Washington is certified in every facet of technical rescue, including underground, confined space and vehicular extrication. On the job she started in 1982, Washington welcomed her daughter, Alisa, to the department this year.

Washington has four grown children (three sons along with her daughter) and four grandchildren. She has spent hours alongside highways tending to crash victims and countless more in training. She spent weeks in Biloxi, Miss., cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina, Zweifel said.

Washington said she loves her job and her mother and her children and her friends. But one hour each weekday, from 11 a.m. to noon, belongs to her television family: screaming contestants, Bob Barker and "Come on down!"

Getting on the show isn't easy. Even after securing tickets, traveling to Los Angeles, and enduring long lines and an interview, there is no guarantee of being called to compete. Washington, known as "Momma Cat" to her friends, said she couldn't believe it when her name was called.

In the first game, she had to bid on a kayak. She hates water sports. She guessed and nailed it.

Onstage, Washington said, she froze. But 34 years of Price is Right kicked in, and she made it through the Card Game, playing for a car.

She got to spin the big wheel ("It's really heavy") in the showcase and nailed that, too, then dueled a Navy sailor for living room furniture, carpeting, a juke box and Arthur Murray dance lessons.

It all comes out great in the end. And here's a secret: Winning carpeting doesn't mean that it comes installed ... or even in a color of choice. Weeks after the show, a truck pulled up to Washington's home. The driver had a full roll of carpet to deliver. Sign here.

"I didn't know what to do with it," Washington said, laughing. "At least it's a neutral color."

Washington and friends plan to gather today at the Ringside Cafe in St. Petersburg to watch the show. She said that sharing the moment with her extended family (including one who made a custom shirt for her that reads: Cat+

Bob+

Prizes=The Price is Right) makes the day even more special.

Being on The Price is Right might seem like a little thing to some. But little things count.

"I had one of my greatest wishes," Washington said. "Sometimes people go through their entire lives and don't even get one."

Not to mention a kayak.

--Chase Squires can be reached at 727 893-8739 or squires@sptimes.com His blog is www.sptimes.com/blogs/tv

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 02:15:28]