Tuesday, October 25, 2005

What if You Were a Game Show Question?

I confess. Sometimes I watch "Family Feud" while eating my lunch. It comes on around the time I have just put my toddler down for a nap and I can sit down for a few minutes. It's a dirty little secret, but I'm trusting you not to judge.

Today one of the questions was "Name some characteristics of [famous-Hollywood-sex-symbol-whose-name-I'll-omit]." Some of the answers were "Huge breasts," "Blonde hair," "Married to a rock star (and wife-beater, I thought to myself)," "Posed for Playboy" and a couple of others I don't remember. All I could think about was how it must feel to that person to a), be a game-show question and b), all of the answers are about looks. There was not one word about quality, intelligence, kindness, etc. and most of the contestants laughed as they guessed various answers.

So of course, I had to start thinking about what I would want the answers to be if I were the game show question!

Password: The word is coachgwen. Clue: "Compassionate."
Family Feud: Characteristics of me. "Kind; funny; articulate; creative; loving mom; loving spouse; and on and on..."
Jeopardy: The category is extreme intelligence. "Who is coachgwen, Alex?"
Who Wants to be a MIllionaire: Which of the following women does not belong on this list?
a. Anna Nicole Smith b. Brittney Spears c. Pamela Anderson d. Gwen
Kids Say the Darnedest Things: What does it mean to be a good Mom? Answer: Gwen

O.K., I'm getting carried away with that last one. But my deepest hope would be that if a game show question asked for characteristics about me, the answers would have meaning. It would be o.k. if someone laughed when they guessed, if they were thinking about my sense of humor. Or if they cried thinking about something kind I had done. I would hope that thinking of game show answers to describe me would conjure up warm, thoughtful feelings to anyone to whom the question was posed.

Your turn. What if you were a game show question???