So I’ve been getting some emails and calls this week that start like this: So are you the Michelle Martin that was on Jeopardy? Yes, I am. I was. Or some tense. My verb tenses regarding Jeopardy! are somewhat tangled, given that I traveled to California for the taping in December, it aired in April and I won’t see any of the prize money for a few months yet. So even though all the parts in which I had to take an active role — doing the online test, auditioning, going to Sony Pictures Studios and actually playing the game — are long since over, for most of the world, they just happened. But it was a lot of fun getting to relive the experience. I’d do it again in a minute if they would let me. It wouldn’t be for the money. To me, that’s still not real, and won’t be until whatever remains after taxes finds its way into my bank account (and on to school, Frank’s hockey club, etc.). What’s real is the experience: leaving my comfortable if hectic existence for a few days; getting to meet some really smart and interesting people, both the contestants and the coordinators who took care of us; and, oh yeah, getting to play a game that I’ve been watching on TV since I was in high school. The money will be icing on the cake. I can’t really say how this relates to my faith life, except that it’s part of my life and therefore part of my life of faith. I have to say I was really hoping for a “Saints & Angels” category — I would have rocked — or even a “Books of the Bible” one, if I wasn’t going up against any evangelical ministers. Turns out my strongest category was based on Dr. Seuss; good thing Caroline was in a production of “Seussical,” the musical, in middle school and I saw it all five times. I didn’t really engage in any prayers other than, “Please, God, help me keep breathing” (the actual game play is a little nerve-wracking, but also a little exhilarating), and “Thank you, thank you, thank you for this opportunity! This is really cool!” Maybe that’s the spiritual lesson: the prayers we say most often revolve around asking for things and offering thanks for things, whether we asked for them or not, and we offer those kinds of prayers in all circumstances, both in good times and in hard times. I tend to think that nearly everyone does, even those who do not profess faith in God. But if you don’t believe in a personal God, one who knows about you and cares about you, then who are you asking for help? Who are you thanking for the joy you find? An impersonal universe? That’s not good enough. So thank you, God, for letting me be on Jeopardy! It was awesome.