Just the other day it was on. I never miss a viewing, you know. I realize that for some it might not equal cinematic glory, but to me, it’s something of a masterpiece in its own right.

Indeed, I admit that I never skip a viewing of it — if at all possible.

I speak of the quirky little film, “The Princess Bride.”

Sure, it’s no official classic. But to me, at least, it’s riddled with key points (not to mention being silly and hilarious). It’s basically a fairy tale about a princess and her one true love who just happens to be her farm boy servant. They overcome many obstacles, including Rodents of Unusual Size (you just have to watch, OK?) to live happily ever after.

The website www.theodys

seyonline.com offered many reasons the movie is filled with important life lessons, yo. Here are a few.

• There are many ways to say, “I love you.”

Princess Buttercup, the film’s heroine, basically existed for giving orders to her servant, a farm boy named Westley. She ordered him about and he always responded, “As you wish.” Then one day, “she was amazed to discover that when he was saying ‘As you wish,’ what he meant was, ‘I love you.'”

Westley shows us that people have many different ways of expressing love. Some ways may be less straightforward than others, but they are no less genuine. After all, as Westley said, “Death can never stop true love, all it can do is to delay it for a while.” I couldn’t agree more.

• Never let strangers know that you’re all alone.

Rule Number One of traveling alone in the fictional Florin (or anywhere else!) is this: If you tell a band of vagabonds that there is no one around for miles, you might end up being kidnapped and shipped off to Guilder or some other horrid place, awaiting a grisly fate. You have been warned.

• People in masks cannot be trusted.

This astute warning is an important reminder for us all. Someone hiding beneath a mask could be anyone at all, so proceed with caution. Do not forget that these can include emotional masks worn by fakers, as it were. Be careful not to fall for their untruths.

• Don’t pretend that Rodents of Unusual Size don’t exist.

OK, they really don’t. But don’t fool yourself into believing that big problems aren’t real. Just focus on how to survive and conquer them. Remember that the ROUSs are a theoretical fact of life and ignoring their existence always come back to bite you. Literally.

• True love cannot be tracked or killed.

“You can’t hurt me. Westley and I are joined by the bonds of love, and you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds. And you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords.” Indeed, Princess Buttercup understands that evil will never be a match for the power of true love, and we should too. If love can conquer that dopey Prince Humperdinck who’s trying to separate Westley and Buttercup, then it can conquer the darkness in our lives as well!

• There’s a big difference between “mostly dead” and “all dead.”

Mostly dead is slightly alive, obviously. Where there is life, there is hope — and vice versa.

• True love is a treasure.

What can I say? Call me a foolish romantic but I believe true love conquers all. Now if I could only find it?

Kimerer is a columnist who’s avoiding rodents of ANY size. Contact her at pkimerer@

zoominternet.net.