Roll Out the Barrel, Dear

It was a game show that began on radio. The host of You Bet Your Life was Groucho Marx, an entertainer who died on August 19, 1977. Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was born in 1890 to European immigrants, Sam "Frenchie" Marx of the Alsace region of France, and Miene "Minnie" Schoenberg, whose family traveled to the New World from Dornum, northern Germany, when Minnie was 16.*

Why do I care about the game show whose heyday was in the 1950s and that went off the air before I was born? Because of the recent results of another game show that is still on the air.

James Holzhauer, a professional gambler who lives in Nevada, was selected as a contestant on Jeopardy!, a game show that is a family favorite in the household in which I grew up. His first appearance was on April 4, 2019. Holzhauer was born to a German-immigrant father. One of his grandmothers was Japanese and spoke very little English. He had promised her that he would appear on Jeopardy! before she died. She died before his appearance.**

He performed on Jeopardy! for his 33 appearances in a very different way from previous contestants. He performed, in truth, as a professional sports gambler, which is his job. He is married, and they have a daughter, who is 5. He has donated a percentage of his winnings to children's charities in Las Vegas.

So what are all the connections? Too numerous to mention here. Jeopardy! has been on the air for three years longer than I have been alive, beginning about when Groucho's program was ending. I have twice passed the auditions, both written and with the buzzers, but have not been on the show.

You Bet Your Life was mostly in the top twenty in ratings during its tenure. Meanwhile, Jeopardy! endures. The contestant who ended James Holzhauer's 33-game appearance on Jeopardy! was named Emma Boettcher. The name, a German one, is often pronounced Bet-cher. As in, You Bet Your Life. 

The certified nurse-midwife who helped guide our firstborn into the world, in Dallas, Texas, was named Cherie Boettcher. Cherie, of course, being a French term of endearment meaning "dear." French being the ancestry of Groucho Marx's father. And Boettcher, a German occupational name for a cooper, a barrel-maker. From the Middle High German, a derivation of butte, meaning "barrel."*** Cherie founded the Birth & Women's Center in 1993. That child of ours was born on August 17, 1994 - ten days late and two days shy of being born on the date that Groucho died, but born instead on his dad's birthday. Unable to negotiate purchase of the house, Cherie had to close the BWC in 2018.

Learning that a librarian named Emma Boettcher was the winner on what turned out to be James Holzhauer's final appearance on Jeopardy! has prompted not only thoughts about heritage, and the strong threads that bind family members one to another, but also vivid memories. Our lives are so enriched, and our ties with God are so strengthened, when you and I are open channels for relationships; connections; love.

* From the Wikipedia entry, "Groucho Marx."
** From the Wikipedia entry, "James Holzhauer" and a footnote that sourced an article on Heavy online. 
***Surname derivation information from Ancestry.com