From the 1984 film Top Secret!

“Listen to me Hillary. I’m not the first guy who fell in love with a woman that he met at a restaurant who turned out to be the daughter of a kidnapped scientist only to lose her to her childhood lover who she last saw on a deserted island who then turned out fifteen years later to be the leader of the French underground.

“I know. It all sounds like some bad movie.”

Speaking of bad movies, or the opening to a dad joke:

“An ex-journalist, two teachers, a graphic designer and a car wash owner walk into a trivia tournament…”

Just last night, I managed to lock down my four players for the My Trivia Live finals, should we make it that far. I will not have the same lineup for both the semifinal and finals. August is a popular month for barbecues, vacations, and other stuff way more fun than sitting inside a packed bar and answering trivia questions! I can’t be too picky.

So I put on my thinking cap, and tried to find someone who lived within reasonable distance of the metro Detroit ‘burg West Bloomfield. A lot of folks – even ones who have lived their whole lives in Michigan – probably don’t know much about this town (specifically a township). You might even be wondering…just where is it, anyway? Well, it’s a couple of cities north of Livonia. But if you also don’t know where Livonia is (really, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t)…yeah it’s northwest of Detroit.

The main things I remember about West Bloomfield Township from my past life as a journalist are: One, it’s a heavily Jewish area. Two, it’s an affluent area, with a median annual family income of about $113,000 (per Wikipedia). In my past career as a journalist, I spent six weeks filling in on the vibrant West Bloomfield “beat” where I learned about the Jewish high holidays, among other things (cantors are actually pretty cool). Interesting that the player I recruited just last night also happens to have been raised Jewish!

I actually met this guy several years ago when a friend recruited me to play with her “reject” team for a Sporcle Live venue tournament in Berkley (not part of the tournament five). He was their team captain, and because of a last minute call off, I had to be one of their five players, though I originally thought I’d just sit at the “overflow” table, catch up with my friend, have some beers…nope! I was thrown into the fire! Long story short, I helped them qualify for finals. It was a fun night, though the long car drive without working AC was a bit…moist.

He said he’s been out of the competitive trivia scene for a while, but was very excited to be asked to get back into it. He also said he watches Jeopardy! five days a week.

We’ll all be dusting off the cobwebs for sure!