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The High-Low
By
Slippingirl
KBBN, the news and weather beacon of the Green Hills, was running the High-Low contest again that spring. Moots Motors, known to KBBN listeners as "THE place to go shopping when you're shopping for a car!" was the sponsor.
The contest had been running for two weeks when during The Birthday and Anniversary Show, after Aunt Twila wished Tyson a happy birthday from her and Uncle Mike, the sounder went off. Mrs. Frank Toller of Tindale was the ninth caller and guessed $1,001.01. The High-Low machine beeped and twittered and then said in a very low voice, "You're too low."
This was big news in the Green Hills. The High-Low had never been more than a few hundred dollars. There was speculation that Henry "Big Junior" Moots, proprietor of Moots Motors, had come out well in his divorce, finally settled with the IRS, or was involved in Columbian drug smuggling. None of this was true. Henry, in fact, owed his ex-wife $20,000.00. The Kansas City lawyer was still holding off the IRS, and he hadn't touched cocaine since his three-semester stint at MU. Henry just wanted to sell Fords.
Everyone started to pay attention to the High-Low which had been in the sole possession of old ladies in the past. Notes were kept and strategy was discussed. $2,209.47 was too low, and so was $2,345.67. The joker that guessed $9,999.99 was too high. DJ Bill Wiles, known as “Be-Bop Bill” during the Saturday Night Oldies Show, was so overwhelmed with calls during the Trading Post he shut down the phone system. The High-low was the main topic of discussion at every gathering in the Green Hills.
A week passed and guesses narrowed. The prize was somewhere between $3,500.00 and $3,700.00. Then, between $3,650.00 and $3,675.00. By the next week guesses were within cents of each other. Exactly four weeks into the contest, after the 12:15 weather report, the High-Low sounder went off for the last time.
Bill Wiles took the ninth call and asked, "Are you ready to play the Moots Motors High-Low game?"
The caller said, "Yes, I am."
"What's your name and where are you calling from?" Bill asked in his best ‘Bebop’ voice.
"This is Charles Watchling from Milner and I want to guess $3,658.47," the caller replied.
"Well then let's get right to it. I'll crank up the High-Low machine." There was the familiar sound of machinery, then silence. "Congratulations Charles! You've won the Moots Motors High-Low game!" screamed Be-Bop Bill, with the party sound effects in the background. "That was Charles Watchling of Milner, winner of the Moots Motors High-Low game with a guess of $3,658.47!"
The talk of the Green Hills now turned to who exactly had won the High-Low game. No one knew a “Charles Watchling from Milner”. Henry "Big Junior" Moots was wondering the same thing. Charles Watchling was coming over this afternoon to pick up his prize. They would take a photo with the winner, Bebop Bill and himself to be used in the weekly ads. The contest had been great publicity and he hoped to recoup the prize money by selling Mr. Watchling a car.
Henry gave up all hopes of selling a car when Mr. Watchling pulled into the parking lot. There was no mistaking the smoking 1970's Impala. He had known Charles Watchling all his life. He just had always known him as ‘Bugger’. He had seen his contest winner emerging from the dumpster at the local Jack And Jill last week. He and Be-Bop did hold their breath long enough for the kid from the newspaper to take the picture and to congratulate Mr. Charles "Bugger" Watchling on his win.
The photo did not appear in the weekly Moots Motors ad, but word got around that Bugger was the one that had won the High-Low. He became a person of interest. Everyone wanted to see how he would spend his windfall. It was agreed that this was more money than Bugger had ever seen in his life. No car, new clothes or even the suggestion that he had celebrated his victory with a bath were apparent. A teller from The Farmers Bank let it out that he had cashed the check the day he received it. Where the money would end up became the main topic of discussion.
The checker at the Safeway was the first to get a line on Bugger's winnings. He came into the store with a woman no one had seen before. They purchased two sirloin steaks, fresh strawberries and a Pet-Ritz banana crème pie. The checker also said they were a fitting couple.
Over the next few weeks Bugger and his lady became prominent in the community. They were spotted at King's Pizza eating a super special supreme and at the Dukim Inn enjoying cocktails. It was said that Bugger's girlfriend had a good effect on him. He was clean and shaven when they put in an appearance at the Republican Ladies’ Meet-The-Candidates Picnic. The couple made quite an impression on the candidate for Attorney General.
The mysterious lady's name was never known, she was only called Mrs. Watchling. Some said that Bugger had got her in Arkansas. Many thought they must be cousins. It was generally thought that he was better for her presence, and everyone hoped that they would not have children. The High-Low had been good for Bugger.
When spring returned, Moots Motors again sponsored the High-Low contest. Interest was intense for the first week. When it was clear that the prize was under $1,000.00, the contest again became the domain of the old ladies.
It was about that time that Mrs. Watchling disappeared. There was talk of what had become of her. It might have been the big mystery of the season if there had not been a deadly car accident. Several teenagers were involved, one of the survivors was charged with manslaughter. The grieving and debate about the guilt of their friend made everyone forget all about Mrs. Watchling.
Bugger went back to his dumpsters. Almost no one ever thinks about when he won the High-Low.
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