Making Deals

My husband and I have a long tradition of making deals. I walk the dogs in the morning; he walks them in the evening. I cook dinner; he cleans the kitchen. I rake the leaves; he bags them. You get the idea.

A few weeks ago, after a reminder from a friend, we watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). I cannot recall the last time I watched any of the Indiana Jones movies. Before this, we hadn't watched those movies in ages, even though the set of them is tucked into a cabinet with our other movies—between I'm Gonna Get You Sucka and Ironman, both of which we have watched in at least the last twelve months. (The Indy movies did get some play during a recent visit from my mother, though.) And so...

What a fun movie! It was great to rediscover this gem of the action adventure genre. I had forgotten a lot of the details about this story, the acting, and the cinematography. While we watched, I repeatedly thought, “Oh, yeah, this part!”

And then it happened. Just a few minutes into the movie. “Throw me the idol,” Indy says. My husband begins to laugh. And then, there it is: “Throw me the idol; I throw you the whip!”

In an instant, this became another “movie for life.”

Well, you can imagine all the uses for this! It may not work for international diplomacy. But it does well in our regular household.

Need to trade grocery shopping for dinner cooking? “Throw me the idol; I throw you the whip!”

Want to swap breakfast with the kids for reading them a bedtime story? “Throw me the idol; I throw you the whip!”

Would rather fix the plumbing than clean the gutters? “Throw me the idol; I throw you the whip!”

These little sentences are like a secret password. Give them a try. You'll be bartering and trading like a pro in no time at all.