The classic 1970 movie Little Big Man, a comic-historic-satirical western, is full of brilliant lines that have become household words — at least in this household. Among the best are those said by Faye Dunaway's character, both before and after she gives the protagonist played by Dustin Hoffman a bath:

Highly useful at potentially-embarrassing moments! And then there's the wonderful exchange near the end of the film between Chief Dan George's character and Hoffman's, when the old Chief lies down on a hilltop and wills himself to die. After a while it begins to rain. Eventually the Chief stirs:

At which point he gets up and they go back down the hill together, thoroughly soggy, to have dinner.

And indeed, especially as one gets older, sometimes the magic doesn't work ...

^z - 2013-12-29