WHY DID I ASK?

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS AT OUR HOUSE:

Gerald accuses Les and me of having "verbal shorthand" and says he doesn't know what we're talking about half the time because we interrupt each other, finish each other's sentences, and expect each other to grasp whatever arcane references we've thrown about.

The following conversation between Les and me:

"Have you noticed that the phrase "I'm not THAT guy" has crept into the lexicon?"

"Yeah, remember the episode on How I Met Your Mother?"

"Which one?"

"The one where Ted finds a porn star with his name?"

"Yeah, but what's that got to do with..."

"Oh, there's a song with that title."

"How I Met Your Mother?"

"No, I'M NOT THAT GUY."

"Who's it by?"

"Andrew Jackson."

"Old Hickory--I hate that Indian killer."

"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson."

"He should be!"

"THAT guy or Andy Jackson?"

"I don't like him well enough to use the diminutive."

"That's the group's name."
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Gerald said, "I don't know what ANY of that meant."

I said, "Obviously there's a group named Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson who recorded a song named I'm Not That Guy and we've noticed people using that phrase a lot recently."

"Oh, SO that's what you two said!"

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The conversation continued:

"James Joyce has nothing on us."

"Name one person who can HONESTLY say they've actually read Ulysses!"

"Well, I TRIED!"

"OK, Molly Bloom!"

"That's SUPREME!"

"Just call me Penelope."

Gerald jumped in: "I know that reference--Penelope was Ulysses' wife!"

"Wrong Penelope!"

Gerald said, "Explain it."

"James Joyce wrote Ulysses and it was banned in the United States and it was a famous Supreme Court case to have it sold in the U.S.; the book was a modern-day telling of Ulysses EXCEPT Leopold Bloom was Ulysses and Molly Bloom was Penelope EXCEPT Molly wasn't faithful and Leopold's odyssey lasted only one day."

Gerald said, "Why did I ask?