Alex Trebek Died.

 The answer is in the form of a question.  The clue: “The tallest building in the world.”  The answer:  “What is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.”  Jeopardy, the trivia game show, is seen in millions of households every night around dinner time.  I loved Jeopardy.  I loved to see if I knew the answer.  When there was a category I knew,  like Biology, Marine Biology or the Bible, I had a better chance.  I marveled at the outrageous facts some people knew and the speed at which they answered the clue.  The values the game held up are values I hold:  civility, nerdiness, respect, kindness to everyone.  The host, Alex Trebek, set the tone for 37 years.  Bob said with a bit of implied criticism, “the show is always exactly the same.”  The same introduction, the same words said, the same order.  That’s what gave me comfort.  I could always send count on Jeopardy to calm me down no matter what had happened in my life or in the world.  In turbulent times, watching Jeopardy provided needed constancy and comfort.  Even the little jingle in the final question is an ear-worm when I call it to mind.  About a year and a half ago, Alex Trebek announced on the show that he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  It was a death sentence to be sure and yet as I watched the show, he seemed to go on and on, never looking sick or stressed.  He never missed a show in all his years.  He was a private man, showing us only the set pieces of himself on the show.  What I saw, I valued and appreciated and so did millions of Americans.  His death was announced on the front page of the NYTimes on Monday with a long article telling of his life.  I’m sad and I know so are millions of other Americans.