Family Feud

Remember that great TV show from what seems like every decade since the 60's, due to so many new attempts to find a host as creepy as Richard Dawson, without much success.  In light of some recent events in my own life I have reflected, oddly enough, on the concept of this show, "Family Feud".

If you are unfortunate enough to have never witnessed such great television, please search the web for any episode starring the the host Richard Dawson, who was also a great addition to the cast of Match Game, another amazing game show from the 60's I believe, that allowed average people the chance to mingle with celebrities on national television in an amusing format.  Here is a clip of each to get you started.  Family Feud and Match Game. 

The thing that made Family Feud a great show was that contestants would come on with their immediate family members most of the time and the goal was to come up with the most commonly surveyed answers to silly questions.  What made for great television was that the family often had to agree on an answer to submit and more often than not there was great disagreement.  It was hilarious to watch the contestants plead for their answer to be submitted, only to have the captain of the team go with what they believed in their heart to be the best answer.   

This concept for a TV show is brilliant because the notion of having family members competing with each other, rather than a group of randomly selected individuals, is what makes it interesting.  In my life I have experienced family to be the people that I care most about and particularly when I was younger, the ones I spent the most time with.  Here in lies the genius of Family Feud.  When you care so much about one another and also spend a lot of time together it if impossible to avoid arguments, no matter how serious or seemingly unnecessary the issue.  This made for great television and in reality it can make for some pretty dramatic encounters and unfortunately in real life there is no cash prize.  

At the end of each episode the winning team would get a chance to win even more money through a challenge round that only they could play in and the opposing team that lost had to stand by and watch.  It never failed, the team that lost always seemed so happy once it was over even though they may be going home with nothing.  But as cheesy as this may seem, the real prize was there all along, each other.  I know pretty corny right?  My family has had a variety of problems just like everyone else and over time it always seems to settle down and we are there for each other again. 

I have been wondering lately if there is a point of no return, where a relationship can go beyond repair...and I think I have found my answer.  Relationships are obviously like a two-way street, they go both ways.  My hope for all of my family members, extended ones included, is to have a good relationship with them.  That may not mean that we see each other all the time like we used to when life was a bit less busy, when full time jobs, kids and other great things were not taking up free time.  What I have to hope for is that each of my family members will meet me half way and do not decide to veer off the path that is our relationship.  As time goes on people change, priorities change, and certainly others change at different paces and yet if a relationship is truly desired than there should not be anything that can stand in the way. 

Image taken from http://www.fanpop.com/spots/family-feud/images/141578/title/family-feud-icon