By: John Silva November, 2024
What would you say if I told you that there were two little words that once uttered could literally change the world? Can you guess what they are? The first word has four letters and the second word has only two. Really? What could they be?
Would you care for another hint? Sure. The first word begins with the letter “W” and the second word begins with an “I. Hmm… I wonder what they could be?
And, you say they changed the world? Humph. I wonder, how could that be? Just two words? Hmm? What could they be? I don’t have a clue. I simply don’t know. I give up!
Well here they are. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? One! Two! Three!
The two words are… “What if”
Think about it. Going back in time, the earth was lush and vibrant with lush green plants and the animals roamed freely across the continents. But, there wasn’t any speech. Not yet. Not a word was being uttered because there were no humans to utter them. And, speech you know is kind of a human thing. But, in time the humans would come, and come, and come. However, for now, there were only a few here and there, and they were constantly wandering off, getting lost, and eaten. Humans, originally, weren’t exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer.
Where are they? They were here just a minute ago. Now, I can’t find them. There they are. Bert and Ernie were two of the smarter humans in the group, but even they got lost.
Did you hear that? They were talking! They are probably the first humans on earth with the ability to actually speak. How did they do it? What did it sound like? What language did they use? Was it Latin? Greek? Egyptian? If they were Italians, they probably used a lot of hand gestures. Have you noticed the Italians are always talking with their hands?
What do you think these two guys were talking about? I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count. Let’s listen in, and see.
Yo, Hairy [as in hairy as an ape]. What’s sup? Hey, Grunt. Long time no see [as in a grunting ape ]. How you been? Fine, fine. And, you? Bout the same. So what’s new? Well, just take a look. You see that huge rock on the other side of the river. Yeah, I see it. Well, look just a bit to the left and just past the rock and tell me what you see. Oh, my God… It’s a woman… and she is so beautiful… Where did she come from?
Well, there you have it. The first words ever spoken? It had to be about a woman.
I wonder what they said? Did it change the world? Oh, yea! When Grunt swam that river, and blurted out “Hey, baby! What if you and me got together tonight for dinner and a show? Nine months later a whole new tribe got started… one baby at a time… see what I mean. “What if” changed the world.
And, then there were those two married women doing their laundry down there on the banks of the Nile. You could hear them talking way up here… going on and on about their husbands. Braggin on them, about how one is better at building stuff than the other. But, then one says… My husband is ten times better at building stuff than yours. And, that was when the fighting started, and before long they were having a real cat fight. Ester was pulling out Jezebel’s hair, and Jezebel was kicking, scratching, and biting Ester.
The bragging had gotten out of hand. Just then, Ester says, “What if” we have a contest and see which of our two husbands can build the biggest pyramid? And, with that they were off to the races. The pyramids turned out to be so large, the astronauts orbiting the earth five thousand years later could see them. By the way, the pyramid at Giza was the largest, and it was built by Jezebel’s husband.
Soon everybody was saying “what if” this and “what if” that. And, then some guy named Effiel said “what if” and a huge tower over a thousand feet tall appeared right in the middle of Paris, France for some kind of World’s Fair… I think they named the thing after him. Oh, yes. And, I think I should also mention the “Eye.” It’s a gigantic ferris wheel with seating for eight hundred people on the banks of the Thames River in London. And, of course there was Hilter wondering “what if” I invaded Poland and the emperor of Japan thinking “what if” I bombed Pearl Harbor? And, Columbus pondering the question “what if” I took my boats the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the
out for a little sail?
The whole list is quite extensive, and much too long for this essay. However, it’s kinda fun trying to imagine people saying ‘what if” to all kinds of historical and future events .
The following topics are just a few of the possibilities that are ripe with mischief, fun, and wonder. How about social interactions (Mark Anthony and Cleopatra), inventions (The wheel), discoveries (The polio vaccine), games (Let’s make a Deal), food (Escargot) entertainment (Pole dancing), transportation (The submarine), Books (1984), Movies (Gone with the Wind), etc. Take your pick.
Then of course, I wonder what about myself? “What if” I were to write down some stories? Maybe I could even write a whole book. I could call it “Soon To Be Famous.”