Brilliant … But Bouncy

Name Something That You Feel Before You Buy.

We were playing one of Shane’s new favorite games, Family Feud, based on the TV show of the same name. In a classic sense, it is a game that requires one to guess what other people might think about a specific topic.

For example, a question might be: Name a place where you might find hot dogs. And the answers might be “restaurant,” “baseball game” and “school cafeteria.”

The topics are simple, but guessing the top answers of 100 random people – well, that’s not as easy.

We had friends over – conveniently another family – and were all having a wonderful “feud” when the following query emerged:

Name something that you feel before you buy.

Shane’s hand was the first one to hit the imaginary buzzer.

“Sadness,” he said.

There was a half-second pause before a riot of laughter ensued.

Whereas the Family Feud card was asking about something that a person might touch before purchasing, Shane’s mind leapt to an emotion that might be connected with the purchase.

And interestingly enough, he thought people would feel sad, rather than elated, when buying something.

Sadness. People feel sadness before they buy something. Both teams were laughing.

“Shane often thinks outside the box,” I said. “In this case, I don’t think a box even existed!”

Tears streamed down my face. I was laughing so hard, I could hardly talk.

“Sadness?” I choked. “Not even joy or excitement?”

Shane’s eyes were wide. He had no idea why his guess was so funny.

“Sadness because you were losing your money, maybe,” he said.

Ah, I thought, tears still rolling. At least now it makes sense!

The top answers, for the record, were things like “fruits/vegetables” and “clothing.”

I have always been an out-of-the-box thinker. As a result, people have always thought I was a little weird. And to be fair, I am a little weird.

I’m so glad to have Shane in my life.

Shane reminds me that “out-of-the-box” is more than just different. Many times, it is just simple brilliance.