For many a year now, one of the ways I've managed to prove my dementia is by occasionally asking very strange questions or offering very bizarre comments. And just like anyone who is too cerebral for their own good sometimes, usually these comments aren't random or without meaning but are generally obscure or cryptic to those who hear them.

One of these phrases, or rather question is, "What do you think of the metaphysical properties of cheese?" Usually the responses have ranged from strange looks that can be interpreted as a desire to flee from this raving lunatic to actual discussions of the merits of various cheeses (After all, Swiss cheese is very Holy!).

So without further ado or perambulating I now present the origin and true meaning behind this phrase.

Long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... err...

It was a dark and stormy...

In the days of yore...

okay... maybe a little bit of perambulating.

I honestly can't remember if it was my freshman or my sophmore year of high school, but it was early in my high school career. A handful of our group was sitting on one of the benches that lined one of the breezeways. To further establish the picture let me admit that my friends and I weren't members of any of the "popular" groups. You know the ones, filled with the beautiful who appeared to have perfect lives and could get anything or anyone they wanted with a snap of their fingers. In short, we were geeks, nerds, and wierdos and damn well proud of it. We were the anti-clique and exhibited our individuality daily, and not in the typical conforming to the nonconformist way like the goths. Suddenly, I realize that I'm being tempted to veer from the topic again *smack*.

Anyways, there we were a handful of us "invisibles" sitting in the breezeway when a lovely young lass that one of our number (a compact young man of british descent) was cherishing a small flame for was walking down the path. In a sudden moment of inspiration and desperate attempt to appear intellectual and cultured my friend turned to the rest of us and asked, "What do you think of the metaphysical properties of cheese?"

In terms of dramatic moments of the pursuit of young love it went over exactly how you would probably expect. It failed miserably. At least in regards to the young lady in question, however a new code phrase was born for our group. Now when in a public setting we could bring attention to a particulary wholesome sight if someone wasn't paying attention by use of the key phrase, or sometimes to indicate to one another our interests in certain young ladies without being uncouth about it.

And of course being males as time went on variations came into existence that did cross the line a bit into the realm of being a bit crude but only if one knew the meaning behind the original phrase. "I think that cheese would be rather tasty..." and such like.

This and a couple of similar things lead into a conversation about intellectual snobbery that I will save for a later blog.

Until next time.