Last week, a co-worker entered the elevator. As we descended, she asked, “So, are you still writing your little books?”
[Hrmnmrmnm.]
My wife and I have a phrase.
We got it from the movie Keeping the Faith (one of my favorite rom-coms: it’s about a rabbi, a priest, and a high-powered businesswoman, played by Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, and Jenna Elfman). In one scene, the rabbi is going on a date (yes, single rabbis can do that) and in making small talk, he expresses mild surprise at her strong interest in fitness. During this exchange his date, Ali (played by Lisa Edelstein), admonishes him: “No one thing defines me.”
It’s the high point in a scene of brilliantly comic awkwardness that immediately went into our private lexicon. Modified for our personal use (we don’t include the gut-punch), we use this phrase whenever one of us does something a little out of character, exhibits a new interest, or in some way surprises the other. Here. Try it with me…
Finger up. “No one thing.” (more…)
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 