By Mike Goodson/Messenger Correspondent
Growing up in Gadsden during the 1950s and 1960s, television was a very important part of everyday life. In the days of watching the old black and white Zenith television with its two stations and having to turn the antenna to get clear reception television entertainment has come a long way. Today satellite reception and cablevision has brought hundreds of shows into American homes 24 hours a day. The many different networks today bring a variety of shows from sitcoms to reality shows as well as science fiction and sports 24 hours a day.
One particular network, the History Channel, has combined the hobby of collecting and the love of history into a very popular show known as Pawn Stars. This reality show is about a pawn shop in Las Vegas and the family who runs it. It was also the basis for an item on my “bucket list” and my determination to get on my favorite TV show.
The beginning of my brief three minutes of fame started with an e-mail to Leftfield Productions describing my item for sale, followed by phone call after phone call. Finally, an item garnered interest in the producers and the long awaited invitation to come to Las Vegas.
I flew from Birmingham to Las Vegas on April 21 and checked in at Circus, Circus before taking a taxi to the world famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. After meeting several people associated with the show and signing a mountain of paperwork, I was carried from the actual pawn shop to an identical set next door where I met Rick Harrison and Corey Harrison, two of the show’s stars that I would be attempting to sell a ticket stub from the 1900 Olympic Games from Paris, France.
Rick is a very intelligent person and has a vast knowledge of history. After looking over my item and entertaining my asking price of $200, his first offer was $100. We settled on $125, which was fair for something I had paid less than half that amount for. After photographs and spending more money than I earned on the transaction, it was time to head back to the resort.
The next morning it was back to the airport and home to Gadsden. Las Vegas was something to see. Flying over the Grand Canyon was truly a sight to behold. This was probably a once in a lifetime experience.
My trip, however, was soon overshadowed by the fact that although I had been invited and filmed, many people still do not make it on the show.
But on October 9, I was watching my favorite show and I heard a familiar voice. I was on Pawn Stars. Although my segment was edited down somewhat, the experience was still a dream come true for this Alabama City native to be on his favorite television show. Since then I have been invited back to Las Vegas and another chance to attempt to sell another piece of history at the pawn shop.