Solon lawyer mum on her choice of sole Survivor'
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Julie E. Washington
Plain Dealer Reporter
Before Solon lawyer Caryn Groedel's torch went out on "Survivor: Palau" Thursday night, she touched off a firestorm amid the remaining contestants.
Sensing that the Tribal Council ax was about to swing her way, Groedel blabbed about all the secret intrigue, deal-making and fibbing that had been going on. The vote went against her, but she gave the remaining four players and the jury a lot of dirty laundry to sort through.
"I had a feeling I was going home. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain," Groedel, 46, said by phone from New York Friday where she was making the rounds of television interviews. "I'm a lawyer. I like the jury to know what's going on."
Groedel's departure leaves a final four of Katie Gallagher of Merced, Calif.; Ian Rosenberger of Key Largo, Fla.; Jennifer Lyon from Encino, Calif.; and Tom Westman from New York.
Groedel became the fifth member of the jury that decides which player wins $1 million and the title of sole survivor. That person will be revealed during the two-hour season finale at 8 p.m. Sunday, followed by a live reunion show at 10 p.m., on WOIO Channel 19.
"It was an amazing experience. I'm so happy I did it," Groedel said.
In case you're a "Survivor" newbie, here's how this season unfolded. The game started with 20 castaways being stranded on Palau, a remote island in the South Pacific. They were divided into two tribes, Ulong and Koror, which competed for rewards and to win immunity. The tribe without immunity had to go to Tribal Council and vote off one of its members.
Groedel kept to the background during most of the season, which started in February. She had the good fortune to land on Koror, which won every immunity challenge and went into the tribal merge nearly intact. The hapless Ulong tribe sent almost all of its members home before the merge.
In recent weeks on the show, she found herself outside the main alliance of Westman, Rosenberger and Gallagher. Groedel tried to convince the women to form an all-female alliance. The plans never gelled.
Groedel's strategy -- to be trustworthy and keep her promises -- was good enough to keep her in the game for 36 days. She struggled in the challenges, which took more physical strength than she expected.
Howard Groedel, who also is a lawyer, knew it was his wife's last appearance. "I was in the cone of silence."
It was sad to see his wife leave the game, he said, because he knew how hard she fought to stay in it.
"I'm just really proud of her. She fought tooth and nail to get as far as she did," Howard Groedel said.
His lowest point came when he traveled to Palau in hopes of seeing his wife. But only the winners of a challenge were rewarded with a visit from loved ones, and his wife lost.
"I was kept in a little boat. I was extremely sad," Howard Groedel said.
Despite Caryn Groedel's failure to outwit, outlast and outplay, the mood is upbeat in the Groedel home. She was scheduled to fly back to Cleveland Friday evening for middle daughter Isabel's bat mitzvah today. Then it's back to New York Sunday for the "Survivor: Palau" finale.
Groedel wouldn't give a hint about who she wants to win "Survivor: Palau."
"I'm not rooting for anybody," she said. {l{
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