From the desk of Dr. Gupta

One day earlier this year, in the midst of all the darkness surrounding the pandemic, I received a wonderful phone call.    It was from Barry Nugent, a "Jeopardy!" executive, asking with a little chuckle if I wanted to guest host the show.    My mouth went dry and my chest tightened. The thing about calls like that is you always imagine they will come with lots of fanfare, confetti and maybe the victorious sound of trumpets marking a momentous occasion in your life.  But instead, they are almost always low-key, understated affairs, nearly to the point of being unbelievable.    After his simple invitation, Barry added that he thought I'd have a lot of fun. That was it -- followed by a very enthusiastic and ebullient response from me.  For the next two weeks, I will be guest hosting "Jeopardy!" which, for me, it is the honor of a lifetime.    This experience made me respect the amazing Alex Trebek even more. His brilliance was making it all look so effortless -- which I learned was a monumental task.    But the truth is, I loved it.    My parents are both engineers and they inspired my early love of "Jeopardy!"   The Gupta household was one always filled with facts, data and evidence. We cherished them and truly celebrated knowledge. In many ways, "Jeopardy!" was not just our favorite show, it was in our DNA.    Nowadays, I have three teenage daughters of my own and they will usually snuggle in close for that half-hour a day. We enjoy the same competitiveness and camaraderie I had with my parents. And for the first time in 16 months, my mom and dad will be coming to visit, as well. They didn't want to miss the chance to once again celebrate knowledge, facts, data and evidence. It will be special, comforting and more important than ever.