From Kennebec Journal Monday August 3, 2009
From her home in Readfield, she has been reading the book, "The Secret," a self-help book that tells readers that if they visualize what they want in a particular situation, they'll receive it.
A friend she met on a cruise last winter, invited her to visit him in Pasadena, Calif., to see Eric Clapton perform at the Hollywood Bowl.
She also looked into tickets for the "The Price is Right" television game show, one of her favorite shows since childhood, she said.
"My friends kept telling me that they're going to pick me," she said. "They said they could hear them say, 'Patty Pepin come on down.'"
She was one of the first roughly 325 people in line given a number and nametag and asked to come back at 8:30 a.m., Pepin said. As she went in, she had a chance to chat with a producer. "I was so impressed with his job. He has to be happy and upbeat two times a day, three times a week (the times the show is taped)," she said.
Pepin said she wore pigtails and a Maine T-shirt so she'd stand out, and she cracked a joke with the producer who pulled on her pigtails, but she didn't make it as a contestant that day so she got a ticket for another show.
"I just had a feeling. It was strong," Pepin said. The second time she packed a lunch, wore comfortable sneakers, and was ready to get called on. Once again, she met the producer "He looked at me and said 'Patricia, have I seen you before?'" she said.
She found a seat and the music started playing. Moments later the familiar announcement boomed out: "Patricia Pepin come on down."
Pepin was one of nine people in the audience selected as a contestant that day. She can't say how it turned out but said it's to be aired on Oct. 5.
While she was there, she said a man proposed to his girlfriend. When Drew Carey asked Pepin what she did for a living she told him that she was a blues singer and offered to sing a song for the newly engaged couple. "I sang 'At Last' by Etta James. The crowd erupted and everyone cheered," she said.
She doesn't know if that little performance will be cut from the taping or not but said that she learned a valuable lesson from the experience. "No matter what you ask for in life, you're gonna get it," she said.