You can have things over easy with toast

Such is Julie Haggerty's misunderstanding of "the nest egg principle" that Albert Brooks, in one of the all-time great movie rants, declares his wife will henceforth not be allowed to even speak the words nest or egg. We've seen "Lost in America" several times but that scene never fails to crack me up.

Do you know the story? Brooks and Haggerty, a couple of 30-something LA yuppies, decide to sell the house, liquidate all their assets, buy a Winnebago and "drop out of society" to explore the country. They don't make it much farther than Las Vegas. I get it.

Last night, stoked by talk of our own cross-country trip, possibly in an RV, Michelle and I watched and enjoyed "Lost in America" again. It's a cool road trip movie, a funny gambling movie and a great romantic comedy. Albert Brooks' best picture, I think. If you haven't seen it you should.

Some classic moments: Brooks trying to persuade the Las Vegas casino manager to give them their money back; confronting, as a crossing guard, the exact Mercedes that he almost bought before dropping out of society; asking the small-town employment office worker for a job in the $100,000 a-year range; discovering that the manager who had to "sleep on it" before giving Haggerty a job is a fast-food kid named Skippy.

When you see a bird in a tree you say it lives in a round twig.