So my aunt Susan has this theory that the movies and stories you really loved when you were younger are deeply meaningful to your life. She and my mother discussed this at length while my mom was visiting, picking out what their favorite fairy tales and movies meant. Susan asked me about my favorites, and I could name them, but I couldn’t think of what it meant.

But I’ve been thinking.

And all the movies I love, the ones I watch over and over to the point of memorizing entire scenes (or the entire movie, in the case of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which I could recite in its entirety during college), and even my favorite fairy tale, they all have a theme in common: The characters are willing to do whatever is necessary to get what they want, and in almost every case this means subterfuge. But always, someone is going all-out, full-tilt for what they want, no matter what it takes.

Interesting.

I told my aunt she should write a book about her theory. I actually do think she’d make a great New Age guru. She’s very big on visualizing what you want and assorted other hippy New Age sort of things. She’d be great at the guru thing.