Do you remember "Password?"

Joan Crawford on Password. “The password is ‘fun’!”

During my elementary-school years, rainy afternoons had their own comfortable routine: if one had to stay indoors, well, at least there were a few game shows and a 4 o’ clock movie to distract from homework and chores.

My favorite gameshow was Password; celebrities would partner with contestants to guess a “password” by means of the fewest clues. When I was very young, I enjoyed the mysterious out-of-nowhere voice that would stage-whisper to the television audience, “the password is ….” followed by a musical “ping!”

And I guess that explains why, as it loads up over at Patheos, in my head I hear that same sotto-voce tone in my head…“the Word of the Day is…”

Ping!