Choose Wisely: The Quest for the Cup

I got a lot of emails from readers who enjoyed my usage of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in one of the more recent posts. One response said, "David, I appreciate how you use movies as metaphors to make your point. It really hits home." I appreciate the positive feedback, and I'm glad many of you enjoy reading those posts as much as I enjoy writing them. The Last Crusade has a particularly special place in my heart, and I know that film like the back of my hand. What's funny about Indiana's third adventure is that the film's final scene—where the team must choose the correct grail—is pretty much a metaphor for my everyday life (NOTE: if you've been living under a rock since 1989 and you have no idea what I'm talking about, click on the above video and skip to 1:37 on the timer). While the vast majority of our customers come into the store, look around, grab a few bottles, then head for home, there are always a few who severely struggle with that ultimate decision; staring at the wall in agony, beads of sweat running down their faces. Some, like Donovan, look for the most regal of all bottles, thinking the best booze will be in the most ornate of receptacles—"Truly the cup of a king." Others go into pure archeologist mode, thinking they can outsmart the third and final test by choosing the most humble of all labels; as if the entire shelf is a gigantic test of their intelligence—"It would not be made out of gold." But what they all have in common is the fear that, should they "choose poorly", their life is going to end and they'll end up nothing but an exploding pile of dusty old bones; just another victim of the game.

As for me, I'm like the knight: I'm forced to just sit there and watch the process go down; day after day, year after year. It's not always an easy thing to take in. Unlike the knight, however, I'm allowed to offer assistance—and I'm always happy to do so. However, I'm not someone who believes that finding the Holy Grail is the ultimate goal of shopping for a bottle of booze, so in these instances I'm more like Sean Connery when he sees Indy struggling to reach the cup. I'm going to hold your hand, attempt to pull you out of the abyss, and say:

"Indiana.....Indiana......let it go."

It's not about fortune and glory, kid. It's about illumination. 

-David Driscoll