Run, Indy, run!
Rob Price

I may have to watch the new Indiana Jones movie 10 or 20 more times to figure out the details of the plot, which involves a lot of fist fights, an evil Russian agent and a refrigerator. But that's all right. "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull" is a totally satisfying movie, and you should go see it too. Maybe right now.

I was skeptical when I first heard Steven Spielberg was making another Indiana Jones movie. The first Indiana Jones movie came out, oh, 25 years ago, and I figured our hero had to be getting a little aged. What would the title be? I wondered. "Indiana Jones and the Electric Wheelchair?"

And it's true that Indiana has added a few road miles to his face and body. On the other hand, as a thirty-ish friend of mine observed last week, "Looking grizzled is not necessarily a downside."

And who am I to complain if Harrison Ford no longer looks like a swashbuckling Han Solo, The kind of guy who can say with a straight face: "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid"? When I look in the mirror, I see a few road miles myself. And this uncomfortable snugness around my waist when I pull on a pair of jeans - what's that all about?

I'm afraid I know exactly what it's all about.

But: I have a plan.

It all started Sunday afternoon, as my wife and I drove our daughter home from her first year in college. This had been our second trip to the lower Hudson in two weeks, since we wisely figured out our daughter had actually doubled the quantity of her worldly possessions during the past nine months. Boxes of books, bags of shoes and a large hamper full of laundry filled the car. I sat in the back seat, in a space that reminded me of those rocket capsules the early astronauts used to squeeze themselves into. In the front seat, my wife and daughter were engaged in an animated conversation.

Wife: "What do you mean you lost your sneakers?"

Daughter: "I mean I lost my sneakers."

Clearly something needed to be done, so I announced: "Tomorrow, we will find a shoe store and buy some sneakers."

Conversation regarding sneakers continued, and a general consensus developed between my wife and daughter that we all needed new sneakers. Of course, they don't make sneakers anymore; the things you tie onto your feet in order to pursue athletic activities cost hundreds of dollars and look like they would emerged from the Apollo program. I figured a quick trip to the shoe store would cost the same as one semester at a private liberal arts college.

But! The good news is that there were lots of sales on Memorial Day, and we took advantage of a "Buy one, pay half for a second" deal at a local shoe store and …bought five pairs of sneakers including soccer cleats for our daughter, who has now taken up the sport of rugby. We have been wearing our new "sneakers" every afternoon since, doing slow jogs around the track at the local high school. And I can feel a long range plan coming together.

"I think I'd like to get in better shape," I said to my wife after our last new-running-gear adventure. "I'd like to be able to run a few miles without worrying about dying."

"I think that's a great idea," my wife said.

The thing is, running around an oval track in the company of spouse and child is a pleasant family activity, and I'm looking forward to doing more of it.

Eventually, the searing pain in my legs will dissipate, and I may even lose 10 pounds.

So, if Steven Spielberg feels like directing another Indiana Jones movie, I think he should give me a call and ask how the family running program is going.

Someone is always chasing Indiana Jones. A few scenes of him running around an oval track with his new-found family (a pleasant feature of the latest movie) would establish some background, some explanatory basis for the fact that this guy may be grizzled but he's still tough.

The new movie could be called "Indiana Jones and the Running Shoes on Sale." That beats "Indiana Jones and the Electric Wheelchair"for sure.