Finals

I am starting to come down from my adreneline rush.

Today was the final audition for "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?". Fortunately, Bruce had already returned from his dipnetting trip, so I didn't have to take all the kids.

Another 50 or so kids were going through a second round of auditions. By the time finals began at noon, the number of competitors had been whittled down to about 20.

Jack was first in line again for finals. As he succeeded through each of the next few rounds, my stomach got more and more jittery. Jack got more and more excited.

Kids were missing their questions and the number of finalists was shrinking. It was cool and cloudy outside, but most everyone stuck around watching things progress.

When it got down to about seven kids, we were gathered together and told that there would be one more round of questions. Then, assuming there would only be four or five kids left, the judges would then handpick one kid, the one that would go to Los Angeles to screen test-audition for the television show.

So, that last round of questions commenced. Again, Jack went first and got his question right. (Don't ask me what any of the questions were this time. I was so nervous I could barely think.) Three other kids (all girls) answered correctly as well.

It was down to four kids, and Jack was one of them. We could not rely on his intelligence anymore. Now it was a matter of screen presence and personality.

The judges deliberated for awhile, then gathered us all together for a pep-talk. The kids were congratulated for their bravery and intelligence. Then, they said, "And our winner is.... Jack."

I felt pretty faint. I'm sure my jaw dropped. Kinda went all numb. I had Jack call Bruce after the other contestants had left (they and their parents were all impressively gracious and congratulatory). I think Bruce didn't believe it at first, but then the judges started shouting "Go Jack! Go Jack!" and that probably convinced him.

So, Bruce (Jack's chaperone of choice; no, I'm not disappointed) and Jack will head south to LA on Friday. I think they'll just be there for the weekend (I imagine the days will be long and boring, and possibly hot). Then, on their way back north, they'll just disembark and Seattle, and I and the other three kids will rendezvous with him there.

That's all I know at the moment. I have a splitting headache.