Woman flies into 'Price Is Right' appearance in L.A. after waking in N.J.
Debra Field woke up at 3:30 a.m. one day in New Jersey and had no idea that by the end of the day, she would be a game show contestant in Los Angeles.
The veteran flight attendant "wasn't exactly excited" about going to work that early, but her American Airlines flight to the West Coast left New York at 6 a.m..
Luckily for her, a new crew member had exactly what she needed to pull her out of that slump.
"When I got on the plane, there was a man working in business class and he came up to me and he said, 'My name is Paul. What's your name?' I said, I'm Debbie.' He said, 'Well, do you have plans for our layover in Los Angeles?' I said I was just going to catch up on some sleep, take a walk downtown and check out some stuff.
"Then he goes, 'Well, I have tickets to 'The Price Is Right.' "
By the end of the flight, Field and Paul had wrangled in another crew member and one of the pilots to attend the taping with them.
They landed, got to their hotel and took an Uber to the show's studio.
And the rest is history.
Well, it will be, when the taping airs Thursday on CBS.
Field can't disclose how she fared on the show, but she said the entire experience was wonderful.
"I had gone 20 years ago when I was on my way back on my honeymoon, and we had a really good time," she said. "But for some reason, this was so different. Just being with friends and no pressure and meeting everyone. Everyone was so happy to work there. They make a really, really fun experience."
She also enjoyed meeting new people in the audience.
"Mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, cousins, big families, small families, (from) Europe, anything and everything you could think of that brings people together. And I just love that. Everybody was rooting for each other."
Also a joy was host Drew Carey, Field said.
"During the commercial breaks. Drew Carey had to be one of the most personable people. I couldn't believe it. I don't know what I thought he was going to be like, but he never left. He was always a part of the community. He asked questions, he answered questions. He laughed and joked," she said.
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Field said her appearance, which was taped earlier this year, is a big morale booster.
"I've gone through a lot this year," said. "I lost my house and I had to move into my parents' house with my kids. So the whole time it felt like no matter what happened, if I was on the show, even if they got a glimpse of me in the audience, my parents and my kids would be excited about it and that's what kept carrying me through the whole experience."
She said one of the things she loves about the job is looking for opportunities to have fun and different experiences in the cities she visits.
"It makes you appreciate the job when you have to deal with hard days or hard passengers, the days that you just think 'I can never do this again.' And then you do something like going to 'The Price Is Right' and the next day on the plane, this giddiness, this excitement."
Field says her co-workers who attended with her "will always be my 'Price Is Right' family. And we'll talk to each other when it airs and look for each other on TV."
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 'Price Is Right': Flight attendant heads from NJ directly to the show
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