“The Thomas Crown Affair”

At last night’s Observable Readings event, organizer Aaron Belz gifted me with a DVD of the second-version “The Thomas Crown Affair.” (I.e. the one with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, rather than Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.) The fact that he had found the DVD, box-and-all, in a trash can was actually a nice touch, as recycling/reuse should take many forms.

Now, that said, there’s not a week that goes by in which someone doesn’t reference “The Thomas Crown Affair.” Local sports personalities Bill McDermott, Bob Ramsey and Brian McKenna, in fact, never say “Hello, Thomas,” opting for a shouted “The Thomas Crone Affair!” With them it’s clockwork. With others, it’s a less-regular name-drop, but when added together, these occasional uses begin to add up. Dozens of times, I’ve heard the name of this twice-produced film. Hundreds of times would not be an exaggeration. Perhaps not yet thousands, but I’m only reaching middle age and I’m sure that the tally will grow in time.

In fact, it’s possible that some folks have never made the connection, but now will. Shame on me for a potentially adding to this mania. Still, it’s a topic on which I’d long felt the need to address, to put on the table, to take ownership of, to hash out.

Aaron, thanks again.