When I was growing up (and presumably for decades before that) my grandfather would often recite weird shit for no apparant reason. No one knew what any of this weird shit meant, but we all knew that somehow it was supposed to be funny. The thing was, most of it had to do with pop culture from an era long since past. It was like saying "not that there's anything wrong with it" to a recent immigrant from Bolivia; the context just wasn't there.

The thing is, all of us have our own little pop culture references that stick with us over time. After awhile, they lose their pop culture connection as the general recognition of that saying fades. For example, I know at least one person who always says "O Tay" instead of "OK." Sure, I know that this is a reference to Eddie Murphy's Buckwheat skits from when he was on SNL, but every day, fewer and fewer people would get that.

One reference I retain is the concept of "thick-necked guys named Gunter." See, back in the mid-80s, Michelob launched an ad campaign that just might be the most effed-up ad campaign of all time. They decided to market dark beer to yuppies. As their spokesperson, they chose none other than Martin Mull, creator of the mockumentary The History of White People in America. In the commcials, Mull rested his yuppie target market at ease: "Oh, I know what you're thinking. Dark beer. It's bitter. It's for thick-necked guys named Gunter. No!"

Even as an greasy-faced teen I realized* the hilarity of what was going on here. A small group of friends and I adopted that concept as the highest level of praise. From then on, if something was tough, if it was bold, if it was excellent, it was for thick-necked guys named Gunter, or it might be just referred to as "Gunter" for short.

My point is, how many people even remember this commercial? Not many, I'm sure. And yet, it stays in my memory and resurfaces now and then, probably to the confusion of others. There's already a lot of stuff like that in my brain, and by the time I'm 80, should I live that long, I will probably be a walking font of confusing idioms just like gramps.

I can hardly wait!

* But only as an adult do I get the subtle hilarity of the tag line, "Don't be afraid of the dark."