Of Who's And What's

Did you know that there are different varieties of 'what'?
That not all 'whats' are created equal?
That just because one person says 'what' in this tone of voice, to another person that very same 'what' may mean something entirely different?

You didn't?

Have you never read Dr. Seuss?
Are all Whoo's the same?
When one Whoo answers to one dilemma, does that mean that all Whoos will do likewise?
Is every Whoo a Cindy- Lou? How many Whoos has Horton met?

See?
Its the same with 'whats', sort of...

This was made apparent to me very recently, but now that I have been enlightened I know that I have to share it with yez all.
It happened thus: (all the best stories begin like this...well, second best, perhaps, the best ones being Once Upon A Time, but that beginning is unsuitable in this instance...)

As I was saying, it happened thus:

Middlest rang me up one afternoon in a state of high glee, shrieking, 'Moma! Moma! Guess What?' at me.

So, as one does, I said, 'What?'

And she replied, 'Guess!'

So I guessed, and herein dear fellows, lies the heart of the matter: I guessed wrongly! I guessed, 'You read a book?'

To which the answer, in an exceedingly disgusted tone of voice came, 'It's not THAT sort of WHAT!'


So you see, one lives, one learns, and then one digresses into hyperbole...Thus is the price of having Dr. Seuss read to one from a very early age.