Whatever

SoCS — Anyway Whatever

Fandango13 Comments

“Anyways,” Thomas said, looking at his watch, “I gotta scoot. It’s way later than I thought it was.”

“It’s ‘anyway,’ not ‘anyways,’” Veronica said.

“Whatever,” Thomas said as he was putting on his coat.

“No, it’s not whatever, Thomas,” Veronica said. “The word is ‘anyway.’ ‘Anyways’ is nonstandard. It’s a colloquialism, and while it’s not entirely wrong, it’s just not a real word. It’s not the correct word.”

“Whatevs, Veronica,” Thomas said. “Why do you always have to be such a stickler all the time. It’s no biggie.”

“‘Whatevs’? Seriously?” Veronica said. “Thomas, do you want people to think you’re ignorant. I know I can be a bit pedantic at times, but using an incorrect word like ‘anyways’ when the correct word is ‘anyway’ just makes you sound uneducated.”

“Irregardless, Veronica, I really have to split,” Thomas said.

“Oh my God, Thomas,” Veronica said, “‘Irregardless’ is not a legitimate word. The correct word is ‘regardless.’ Irregardless is nonsensical.”

“Listen, Veronica,” Thomas said, “you’re really starting to piss me off. For all intensive purposes people understand what I mean and for someone who is supposably so intelligible, you should understand that.” Thomas then walked out of Veronica’s place, slamming the door behind him.

Veronica stood there staring at the closed door for a moment, kind of stunned. Then she sighed and said in a low whisper, “Anyway, it should be ‘for all intents and purposes,’ ‘supposedly,’ and ‘intelligent,’ Thomas.”

Written for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, where our task is to “start your post with the word ‘anyway.’”

SoCS — Whatever

Fandango15 Comments

For this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, Linda G. Hill asks us to use the word “whatever” any way we’d like. Okay, whatever.

When our daughter was a teenager, she used “whatever” or “um, whatever” all the time. Except she wouldn’t pronounce it the normal way, as I do when I express, for example, my core philosophy of life, “whatever floats your boat.” No, the way she said it was “what-EVER,” and the word was often accompanied by an exaggerated eye roll. 🙄 She was essentially saying to me, “Just stop, Dad. No one cares. Get a life.”

I used to really hate when she said that. She was blowing off whatever it was that I had just said to her as being totally unworthy of her time or attention and that she had no interest whatsoever in whatever I was talking about. I swore that I would never respond to either a question or a statement from someone with the one word response of “whatever.”

But yesterday afternoon, when my wife asked me what I wanted for dinner last night, I shrugged and said, “whatever.” And then, when she told me that it looked like Russia was going to be invading Ukraine and that Putin was likely going to target its capital city of Kyiv, my response to her was a dismissive “whatever.”

I’m so ashamed…or whatever.

P.S. you may have noticed that one of the “Topics of Interest (i.e., categories) I have on my blog called “Whatever.” And so far, I’ve used that category 70 times over the years. With this post, it will be 71 times.

Thursday Inspiration — Whatever Will Be Will Be

Fandango14 Comments

I was honored when I read Jim Adam’s Thursday Inspiration prompt today to find that he gave me a shoutout for one of my favorite expressions, “Whatever floats your boat.”

The idea for Jim’s prompt is for us to respond by using the prompt word “whatever,” by going with the above picture, by leveraging the song “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,” by using with another song by Cher, or by anything else that we think fits.

I decided to go with the word “whatever,” to use the above picture, and to leverage a song that predates Cher by at least a decade and that I recall from the first Alfred Hitchcock film I remember seeing, “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” starring Doris Day and Jimmy Stewart. And I’m specifically focusing on the song that Doris Day sang in the movie, “Que Sera, Sera,” which translates to “whatever will be, will be.”

The song written by the team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans that was first published in 1955 and was introduced in Hitchcock’s 1956 thriller. It won the 1956 Best Song Oscar under the alternate title “Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera).”. The song reached number two on the US pop charts and number one in the UK. The most recognized refrain in the song goes…

Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be

Here’s the scene from the movie where Doris Day sings the song. Enjoy.

One-Liner Wednesday — Happy Generic Winter Holiday

Fandango12 Comments

461658BE-B138-48FD-B467-036C3D796A33Merry Christmas to all of my Christian friends. Happy Chanukah (or is it Hanukkah?) to all of my Jewish friends. Happy New Year everyone.

And to one and all, no matter what holiday you do or do not celebrate at this time of year, Happy Holidays.

Written for Linda G. Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt.

Totally Awesome

Fandango21 Comments

67FCC56F-9B27-4A6B-A833-9A5E860E2E1F“That burger was totally awesome,” Danny said.

“That’s it,” his father said. “I’m drawing a line in the sand this time. You have to stop using that word all the time.”

“What word, Dad?” Danny asked.

“As your father it’s my job to dispel your apparent misunderstanding of what the word ‘awesome’ means and when to use it. When something is awesome, son, it’s extremely impressive or daunting. It inspires great admiration, apprehension, or fear. Did that burger do any such thing for you?”

“It was really a good burger, Dad. I mean maybe one of the best I ever had,” Danny said.

“I’m sure, Danny, that it was good,” Danny’s father said. “At fourteen bucks, it should have been great. But were you awestruck by it? Were you amazed by it? Did it astonish you? Did it fill you with wonderment?”

“Oh jeez, Dad,” Danny said, rolling his eyes. “Why don’t you just get a rope, find a tree, and hang me?”

Danny’s father shook his head. “The Grand Canyon is awesome, Danny. Looking at the night sky and seeing shooting stars is awesome. Taking a hot air balloon ride is awesome. A freaking burger is not awesome.”

“Whatever, Dad.”

“At any rate, son,” he said, “now let’s talk about your use of the word ‘totally.’”

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (awesome), Ragtag Daily Prompt (line), Your Daily Word Prompt (dispel), Word of the Day Challenge (rope), and The Daily Spur (rate).