Who Stole The Cheese?

Among certain social circles, there is a long-standing tradition of obtaining merchandise that “fell off a truck.” Obviously, you need to know the right people to benefit from such a windfall. You’re timing also needs to be perfect. Suppose you had a friend who had a friend who has some Blu-Ray players that fell off a truck? Score! What if that same friend of a friend was looking to let go some fondue pots that fell off a truck? Not so big of a score. What’s any of this have to do with cheese? If you live in Florida and know the kind of people that know those kinds of people, don’t be surprised if you’re approached with, “Pssst… you want some cheese?”

Over the weekend, a tractor-trailer full of $85,000 worth of shredded mozzarella cheese was hijacked off a parking lot. The cheese was headed for the Hungry Howies Pizza chain but now has vanished into thin air. Apparently, the truck driver and his gal pal left their truck at a truck stop in Summerfield overnight. They were going to come back with a mechanic the next day to check out some engine trouble. They showed up and truck and the cheese were gone. Incidentally, the trailer alone is worth a cool $62,000.

You have to wonder if this was a premeditated robbery or one of happenstance. Did the thieves stake out the truck, follow it from the cheese warehouse to the truck stop and then swiped it in the dead of night? Or did a robber happen by the truck stop and seized the opportunity. You can only wonder the excitement that must have felt driving that truck to a secluded space, calling up their buddies to divvy the loot only to discover it was cheese.

Police should look for any local pizza parlor offering a two-for-one deal on cheese pies with extra cheese.