Tramel and Talicia
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TV ClubHouse: Archives: Tramel and Talicia

Micknrc

Monday, September 30, 2002 - 07:02 am EditMoveDeleteIP
tnt

Tramel and Talicia have a close relationship, but like any other siblings, they have disagreements. Originally from Gary, Indiana, Talicia, 29, now resides in Los Angeles and works as an assistant to a sports agent, while Tramel, 22, is a senior at Indiana University. Since they don't see each other everyday, they are excited to be able to spend more time together and compete for $1 million.

This competitive brother and sister Team describe themselves as "the male/female counterpart of the same person, we are so alike. We like the same things, eat the same food, share the same thoughts and make the same mistakes." They believe that with Tramel's intuition and Talicia's street smarts they will be able to win.

Since they're seven years apart in age, they have also lived very different lives. Talicia has fought and struggled through everything, while Tramel has coasted through life on his wits and charms. He scored a 1300 on his S.A.T. without any preparation, while she got 1100 and stayed up many long nights studying. Talicia feels that Tramel takes the easy way out of things and hopes that the Race will give her brother a taste of the real world.

Talicia's most valuable item in her backpack is her noise-reducing headsets, which "will drown out the nonsense of the world," while Tramel's is a picture of his family and, of course, his clothes.

Talicia's birth date is November 1 and Tramel's is December 3.

Micknrc

Monday, September 30, 2002 - 07:04 am EditMoveDeleteIP
How would you describe your previous travel experience?
Tramel: I've been all over the world. That is, if you consider Mazatlan, Mexico on spring break "all over the world."
Talicia: Been here, been there, have yet to have been everywhere…

What is the most stressful aspect of traveling?
Tramel: Knowing there is a possibility of going to jail in a foreign country for breaking a law you didn't know about is pretty stressful. Nobody wants to go to jail outside the states. Believe that.
Talicia: The stress.

What is the most important item in your backpack, and why?
Tramel: That would be a picture of my family. Either that, or my clothes. Have you ever tried to go through customs with no clothes?
Talicia: My noise-reducing headphones; that way I can drown out the nonsense of the world.

Why did you want to be on THE AMAZING RACE?
Tramel: THE AMAZING RACE?!?! They told me I was here for SURVIVOR!
Talicia: Fun, travel, money…what more could anyone ask?

Have you and your partner traveled together before? If so, what was it like?
Tramel: As fate would have it, we've never traveled together before. After this, we'll probably understand why.
Talicia: No, but we have lived together before, and that was disaster.

What do you fear most about competing in THE AMAZING RACE?
Tramel: My biggest fear is being eliminated early in the Race, before anyone learns my name.
Talicia: Embarrassing or disappointing my mom.

What strengths and weaknesses do you bring to the Team?
Tramel: My biggest strength lies in my ability to think effectively on my feet and work well under pressure. My biggest weakness is this 170-pound pack I…Oh, wait, that's my sister I'm carrying.
Talicia: My strengths are: me, me, and me; my weaknesses are: him, him and him.

What strengths and weaknesses does your teammate bring to the Team?
Tramel: Her biggest asset would have to be her keen brilliance to pick me as a partner. Her weakness would probably stem from everything unrelated to her being my sister.
Talicia: Please see my answer to the previous question.

What will you miss the most from home (besides your bed)?
Tramel: People have beds in their homes? Man, I'm really missing out.
Talicia: My yellow Labrador puppy dog, Elbie Welby Pooty Poo (L.B. for short).

What languages do you speak?
Tramel: I speak two languages fluently: English and Bad English.
Talicia: English, some French, Ebonics (wait, is that a language?).

What destination are you hoping to visit?
Tramel: I'm hoping to visit some of the white sand nude beaches of Brazil. Well, I guess I don't care about the white sand so much. Or the particular country. Or the fact that it's a beach.
Talicia: Space…the final frontier. Seriously, though, I'd love to see historical places like Anne Frank's attic in Amsterdam or the pyramids, or Stonehenge.

What country do you feel best prepared for?
Tramel: Well, I've actually done a lot to prepare for the USA. Hopefully, we'll end up going there at some point.
Talicia: The United States of America.

Micknrc

Monday, September 30, 2002 - 07:11 am EditMoveDeleteIP
'Amazing' siblings vie for $1 million

Gary brother and sister go on adventure in reality TV series.

BY ALISON SKERTIC Times Features Writer
Posted on Saturday, September 21, 2002

Gary Deputy Mayor Suzette Raggs says her daughter Talicia always has had an adventurous spirit.

Her latest adventure took Talicia and her younger brother, Tramel, on a worldwide quest as part of the CBS reality series "The Amazing Race."

Talicia, 29, and Tramel, 22, were chosen from among thousands of entries to take part in the third installment of the series, in which 12 two-member teams compete in a race around the world for a $1 million prize. Each team has a previous relationship, brother-sister, husband-wife, boyfriend-girlfriend, etc.

The show premieres at 8 p.m. local time Oct. 2. The contestants start off in Miami, and over the course of 12 weeks will travel more than 40,000 miles across four continents. Each week, the teams compete in a series of challenges and must race to a final destination. The last team to arrive is eliminated.

Host Phil Keoghan, a travel expert from New Zealand, said it will be evident from the start why Tramel and Talicia were selected for the show.

"They are very dynamic," he said. "These two are like a walking sitcom. They're both very funny and very likable. There's a lot of squabbling, but underneath it all, there's this real love for each other."

The siblings were raised in Gary. Talicia, a graduate of the Emerson School of Performing Arts, moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California and now works as an assistant to a sports agent. Tramel, a Wirt graduate, is a business student at Indiana University in Bloomington, but took a semester off for the race.

Raggs said the siblings have always been close despite the age difference.

"If you didn't know they were seven years apart, you would almost think they were twins," she said. "Like any brother and sister, they've had some serious arguments, but they always have a way of coming back together."

That bond was one of the things that appealed to the show's producers.

"You get a sense that they really love each other and that they'll watch out for each other," said Lynne Stillman, casting director for the show.

The field of contestants is picked from thousands of videos sent in from around the country. Potential candidates are interviewed by the show's producers.

"Their energy was incredible," Stillman said. "They didn't stop talking. They've got wonderful personalities. He is super smart and she's a real people person."

Picking the finalists is like a puzzle, she explained, because the producers want a good mix of teams representing different types of relationships. "The show is really about the relationship and how it's going to change," she said.

That's one of the things that makes "The Amazing Race" stand out among the reality shows, Keoghan said. "These are couples with a pre-existing relationship. Viewers get to see something that already exists and how it evolves, on other shows, you have to wait for those relationships to develop."

Tracee Raggs Parrish filmed the audition tape for her brother and sister. Parrish, 25, wasn't surprised that Talicia would want to go on a global adventure. "It's right up my sister's alley," she said laughing.

Parrish is looking forward to watching the show, although she regrets that she couldn't take part, too.

"I wish I could have had the experience," she said, "but I think the two of them made the best team. They're so much alike and they always have been. They have the same sense of humor and the same sense of adventure. They think along the same lines, enjoy the same music, like the same kind of clothes."

Her mom says Talicia always has enjoyed traveling. Last Sept. 11, she was supposed to be on American Airlines Flight 11 that crashed into the first tower of the World Trade Center. However, she left a day earlier because of a work emergency.

"I believe that God will take care of her and that she's ordained to do the things she's doing," Raggs said, adding that Talicia was traveling last September after participating in a bike-a-thon to raise funds for HIV research.

Talicia has had other close calls in California, including being caught in the middle of the Rodney King riots and narrowly missing a drive-by shooting outside a movie theater. "But she continues to be adventuresome, and it has not broken her spirit, " her mother said proudly.

Raggs said she and her husband, James, are proud of their children and the closeness they've maintained.

"They're very funny when they get together, all three of them. They break up the seriousness around us."

The bond was forged at an early age. "When they were young, they did everything together. They went to plays, swimming, everything," she said, adding that if one of them went to a birthday party, they always asked for extra cake to bring home to the other two.

The three also have become good at keeping secrets.

"They didn't even tell us they put in the application until they became finalists," Raggs said. "And when my son left Gary to get on the plane, I had no idea where they were going."

And she has no idea how her children fared in the race for $1 million. Although the competition is finished, teams are bound by contract not to reveal any results until the show is aired.

Participants from the first two installments of "The Amazing Race" have become pseudo-celebrities, but the show's executives said they try not to mimic the popularity of past contestants when picking the new teams.

"There are so many choices, we don't have to do that," Keoghan said. "And you'll see that nobody we've had on is like Tramel and Talicia and there never will be anyone like them."

The most important thing to succeeding in the race, Keoghan believes, is teamwork, then smarts, then luck. On the bottom of the list is physical ability.

"There isn't anything in the race that isn't totally accessible to the average person, but there are a lot of mental leaps in the race -- mental leaps of faith," he said.

Raggs said that should bold well for her children.

"They come from a praying family," she said, laughing. "But even if they don't come in first or second, the experience is just as valuable."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contestants weren't available for interviews before the series:

Tramel and Talicia have a close relationship, but like other siblings, they have disagreements. Originally from Gary, Talicia, 29, now resides in Los Angeles and works as an assistant to a sports agent. Tramel, 22, is a senior at Indiana University. Since they don't see each other every day, they are excited to be able to spend more time together and compete for $1 million.

This competitive brother -sister team describe themselves as "the male-female counterpart of the same person, we are so alike. We like the same things, eat the same food, share the same thoughts, and make the same mistakes." They believe that with Tramel's intuition and Talicia's street smarts they will be able to win.

Since they're seven years apart in age, they also have lived very different lives. Talicia has fought and struggled through everything, while Tramel has coasted through life on his wit and charm. He scored a 1300 on his SAT without any preparation, while she got 1100 and stayed up many long nights studying. Talicia feels that Tramel takes the easy way out of things and hopes that "The Amazing Race" will give her brother a taste of the real world.

Talicia's most valuable item in her backpack is her noise-reducing headsets, which "will drown out the nonsense of the world," while Tramel's is a picture of his family and, of course, his clothes.


Here are excerpts from a questionnaire the contestants filled out:

Tramel Raggs:

Q: How do you feel about your family? Are you close?

A: I love my family. I wouldn't say we're close and we're definitely not the Cleavers/Bradys/Cosbys family off of "Seventh Heaven," but we're there for each other.

Q: What is the biggest disappointment you have experienced from your teammate?

A: I was going to Mexico for spring break and she told me I didn't need a passport. She was wrong. I missed my flight and thought my trip was ruined.

Q: How did you resolve it?

A: She picked me up at the airport, we found out what I needed to get into Mexico, and she bought me a ticket to Mexico for the next morning.

Q: What is the most memorable time together with your teammate? Why?

A: Probably the most memorable time I had with Talicia was when I was 5 (she was 12) and I knocked her out. We were play-boxing and I accidentally put her down for real. Heh, heh.

Q: How are you and your teammate most alike?

A: Believe it or not, we're almost identical. We like and hate mostly all the same things and think pretty much alike. She's virtually the female version of me.

Q: What is your primary motivation for being on the show? What is your secondary motivation?

A: My primary motivation for being on the show is the fact that I know my team can win, plain and simple. The secondary motivation is that after we win, me and big sis are gonna split a million bucks.


Talicia Raggs:

Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

A: Running the L.A. marathon! I never imagined as an overweight kid, who couldn't run a lap around a track, that I'd ever be able to do it. But I set my mind to it, trained with a group of people and ran it -- twice!

Q: What is the most memorable time together with your teammate? Why?

A: Even though we do a lot of adventurous things, the most memorable time was with me, my sis and my bro playing Zelda (a Nintendo game). My brother would play and my sister and I would coach him. Every time we did it like that we would beat the game. When any of us would play by ourselves, we wouldn't pass the first level. Tramel was 7, my sister was 10, and I was 14.

Q: What is the biggest disappointment you have experienced with your teammate?

A: Oh God, there are so many! I think it comes from the fact that he is young and as a male, very immature. I told him how much his being on the sidelines during the marathon would mean to me. Well he stayed out drinking the night before and missed me because he had a hangover. When he was not there, I cried during the race.

Q: How are you and your teammate most alike?

A: We are really considered the male-female counterpart of the same person; we are so alike. We like the same things, eat the same food, share the same thoughts, make the same stupid mistakes.

Q: How are you and your teammate different.

A: I'm a girl, he's a boy. I'm 29, he's 22. He got almost 1300 on the SATs with no studying, I got a 1030 by staying up every night. He is brilliant in book sense. I am brilliant in common sense.

Q: What is your primary motivation for being on the show? What is your secondary motivation for being on the show.

A: 1) See the world -- without having to go to the Navy.

2) To work together with my brother -- to get some of that camaraderie back that we used to have as kids.

3) Win a million -- who doesn't want a million? Besides, all those hundred dollar bills will do a lot in patching up any wounds I have left over from Tramel.


link to article

Squaredsc

Thursday, October 03, 2002 - 06:12 am EditMoveDeleteIP
he's not gay, is he? i did't read that anywhere in the article(but i did skim it). anyhoo, they are my favorite team so far. i love their bickering. in fact they remind me of my d.h and me, but we have the intimacy thing which they don't.<grin>

Fruitbat

Thursday, October 03, 2002 - 06:27 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I think that may be a misprint. If he is gay he is not out about it. I dont think he is.

They are my favorites too. I loved when Tramel said, it is time to drive more like Dad, than Mom. :)

Teatime

Thursday, October 03, 2002 - 10:12 am EditMoveDeleteIP
These guys were a lot of fun. I loved their dance when they found out they were not the last team in.

Bbfanatic

Thursday, October 03, 2002 - 12:47 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
i like them. they seem really fun. gotta love that driving comment.

Fanny

Friday, October 04, 2002 - 10:10 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I'd picked these two as one of my favorite teams without having read their profiles. Now that I have read them, I like them even better.

Oregonfire

Friday, October 04, 2002 - 03:13 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I liked the victory dance too. They were so d*mn happy! And I liked the "drive more like dad" comment too. I worry that they won't last long if they don't pick up the pace though. Look forward to seeing them next week.

Lumbele

Friday, October 04, 2002 - 05:12 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I had picked them to come in first and was really worried there for a while that I had jinxed them. Almost did that exuberant dance with them. I think for the time being I'll be rooting for this bro/sis comedy team, until they do something to tick me off anyway. Hope that will take longer than Weiner and his ex-girls.LOL

Kappy

Saturday, October 05, 2002 - 05:29 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Another likable duo. Just hope he doesn't keep insisting on her driving only to turn around and criticize her driving ~ speaking from personal experience, that is soo soo annoying, lol!

Jadarville

Sunday, October 06, 2002 - 07:08 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I loved how happy they were to not be last. I thought some of the others seemed kind of disappointed that they hadn't done better and can remember commenting to my son that I would think they would be happier than that to have just made it, then up came this team and made up for everyone else. They definitely made points with me in that scene. I haven't made up my mind overall though, too soon in the game for me.

Ketchuplover

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 08:39 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
they're history

Oregonfire

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 10:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sorry to see these two go. A great sense of humor and they were good sports too. All well.

Vanillarose

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 10:21 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Nooooooo!!!!! There went my favorites!!!! I loved TNT, as they called themselves. Even as they lost they kept their sense of humor! They were awesome!!!! Now I don't know who to root for. I really liked them, and I'm soooo bummed they got booted so early on!

Meggieprice

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 10:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I'll miss them also. I had an inkling they might go but my affection for them kept me from earning myself a point with the thought!

Lancecrossfire

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 10:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Great sense of humor, great attitude about the game and great sports.

Kappy

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 10:51 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Agree with all the above ~ great sense of humor and very graceful exit. And they are so right about having had a blast. That's the great thing about this race ~ you might be disappointed when you come in last but you'd have a blast getting there.

Tabbyking

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 10:58 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
i agree they were great, too!
i think maybe it's a little better (easier?) to lose in the first few rounds, rather than fight to the very end and come in last. that disappointment would have to be incredibly huge. i would hate to be off first, but i would feel proud if i made it any further than that. talicia and tramel should be very proud of themselves.

Squaredsc

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 06:09 am EditMoveDeleteIP
im so sad that they were last. they were my favorites also. maybe i shouldn't pick fav's 'cause they always lose. but they were having fun and i was having fun watching them. they were great.

Scootersmom

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 06:27 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I enjoyed watching them too. I really don't know who are my favorites are at this point....

Babyruth

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 06:40 am EditMoveDeleteIP
:( I was sad to see them go so soon. Such a fun team, and yes, they were great sports.

Demeter

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 07:26 am EditMoveDeleteIP
On the Early Show, Julie suggested to them that maybe we would see them on another CBS Reality show. Big Brother was mentioned and she said, "We'll talk". This was initiated by her, not them.

I think she liked them, but I also wonder if she is going to be in trouble for suggesting this.

I have always been curious about what it would be like if Big Brother did a show with "known couples". Everyone would be coming into the house with one alliance already set. Wouldn't it be interesting to see how they handled evictions?

Fruitbat

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 07:31 am EditMoveDeleteIP
They were my favorites too. How precious that after tipping that skidoo 3 times they were unfazed and in good spirits. These are people I would LOVE to have as friends.

Calamity

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 07:33 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Darn, I kept hoping they'd pull it off somehow! I don't like Jet Skies (nasty, polluting things) but maybe they should've switched positions after they spilled the first time?

Anyway I hope they had a great time. Now I have to find new favorites :( .

Dreamweaver

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 07:55 am EditMoveDeleteIP
They seemed like they really enjoyed their time on the show and being together. Best of luck to them both.

Bastable

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 07:58 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm sorry to see them go, too. They were the funniest of the bunch. The had such a GREAT attitude. I wanna go have a drink with these guys!

Betty

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 08:07 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Just like the rest of you, these were my favs and they seemed like such fun people. The other teams just don't seem to have any spark so it'll be hard finding someone else to root for.

Ladytex

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 08:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh man ... wish I could have seen the early show interview. These two were great and I really enjoyed watching them.

Lumbele

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 10:57 am EditMoveDeleteIP
RATS!!!!!!! They were my NJ frat boys for this round. Now what? Whom to champion next?

Kitt

Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 02:31 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I loved it how they kept their sense of humour while falling off that jet-ski! I'd have been so stressed at that, but they took it all in their stride. Shame they've gone. I wanted the older couple off.

Seamonkey

Friday, October 11, 2002 - 12:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I was so hoping they'd stay.. at the end where they made it look like it could be them or the older couple in .. and I saw Ian's hat enter the screen and groaned. I think that's why I messed up on the picks.. hoping they'd go for FF and be in first and the twins would be not in first.

I did like them very much.

They really didn't say too much on the Early Show. They were asked to comment on the two lawyers and clips were shown of the lawyers getting all intense about getting onto the early bus and they just said it was different styles. Julie said maybe they should have tried whining and crying and Talicia quickly said "uh, NO".

====

Did the article say "gay"?? I read gay for a second, but I think it said Gary, since they are from Gary, Indiana originally

<Gary brother and sister go on adventure in reality TV series.>

Fruitbat

Friday, October 11, 2002 - 06:11 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Ahhhhh ha! That must be where that got started. Gary. Makes sense.