I shared this OBVIOUS movie quote today to my volleyball team (2 bonus points for you if you know it). Well, none of my girls had a clue what movie it was from. I added, “She rescues him right back”, “He sleeps”, and “Big mistake…HUGE!” Nope, not a one of them had knew it. Granted, this was from a true movie classic that was made all the way back in…1990. Yes, the oldest of these girls was born in 1995 but still. They should know the movie “Pretty Woman.” Yes, I am a quality coach, I quote movies about prostitutes to my volleyball team (oh, c’mon Julia Roberts as a prostitute was not the most believable thing in this movie). However, it made me realize once again how much I rely on movie lines and “tag lines” in general in my daily conversations? Do you do this?
It’s a broad category for sure. When I use the word tag line I am all inclusive. It can be movie lines, lines from tv shows, cartoons, commercials, characters from skits we’ve done, even just things we’ve said once that stuck. I sometimes think that I will eventually hit some sort of tipping point where all I do is speak in tag lines. I will then have no original comments or conversations. My original thoughts will be funneled through and communicated via tag lines. I absolutely don’t think I mind this at all and, in fact, think I will have achieved some sort of guru status at that point.
Why do I love tag lines so much? I’m not sure but I have noticed some interesting characteristics about them that intrigue me. One, it’s funny how you have different ones with different people. Mind you, if you are good, it doesn’t matter to whom you say a tag line, they should still get your point. They just won’t know you’re quoting a line from “Welcome Back, Kotter” or “Shawshank Redemption.” Yet, when you do quote a line from a movie (out of context of the movie but in context with your conversation) and the other person “get’s it” you’ve a cool moment. You share that something with that someone. It’s your “thing.” I have even remembered tag lines, used them, and had no idea who I use that line with or where that movie line was from…if it was from a movie at all. However, it can be quite an awkward moment when you excitedly use a tag line with someone only to realize that they have no idea what you’re talking about. You then realize that it’s a special something you share with someone else, is that like cheating?
Taken a step further, I also like to impose a tag line onto an unsuspecting group of people. You just begin to use a phrase over and over again at the appropriate times in conversation. With great advertising campaigns it happens quite often. With individuals, it’s pretty rare. “Where’s the beef?” was all the rage when I was young. There were few males who did NOT answer the phone by saying, “Waaazuuuuuuuup?” five or ten years ago. Over the past few years it’s “that’s what she said” (made popular by the tv show The Office) that has swept across pop culture. Yet, I love to start a tag line, beat it to death, use it creatively and watch it seep into the lives of my friends and then see them take it to “their world.” To think of some guy going home using a tag line on his wife, her rolling her eyes, him thinking he’s done something clever (and perhaps he has), all the while having no idea I started it…that’s pretty cool.
Maybe I fear that I don’t impact others. Maybe I should just live “day by day.” Perhaps most of these attempts end “right in the lumberyard Danny.” Maybe “we need to get a bigger boat.” I’m quite sure that “milk was a bad choice.” It could be that “I think he’s talking to you.” “Isn’t it true” that I’m not making sense? However, “if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change.” Perhaps I’m afraid that someone will tell me, “Oh, Jay, there you are…you may go now” instead of “Jay? He’s probably down there on the creek, walking on water.” Yeah, that’s probably the case.
The funny thing is, my mother is the same way…except in a reactionary manner and with song lyrics. Right in the middle of a conversation you’ll say something like, “So…I ate a cupcake” and she will go off on some song from 1942 involving cupcakes.
If I begin to analyze it to the extreme it’s probably my desire to impact other people. It’s hard to measure how much you impact the life of others. Perhaps I get a sense of impact when I hear them use a line I’ve started. Maybe, it’s just my dream. After all, “Everyone’s got a dream. What’s your dream?” Actually, what’s your favorite or most commonly used “tag line?”