Guess Watt?

Let me start this by saying that I am not a fan of Abbot and Costello’s “Who’s On First” routine. But sometimes similar (and funnier) situations can surface in real life. For instance, I ran into our old friend Mrs. Watt over the weekend. Her last name is tricky. She gets in a lot of conversations that go something like this:

Person: What’s your last name m’am?

Mrs. Watt: Watt

Person: What’s your last name?

Mrs. Watt: Watt

Person (slightly louder): What’s your last name?

Mrs. Watt: Watt!

This confusion can go on for minutes. I doubt if this happens to the famous football player JJ Watt because people know him, but I feel bad for Mrs. Watt. She's been forced to take numerous hearing tests over the years.

We also had a friend named Jim Guess. He found himself in more than one conversation that went something like this:

Person: What’s your last name, son?

Jim: Guess

Person: Smith? Jones?

Jim: No. Guess.

Person: I give up. What is it?

Jim: Guess

Obviously, this can be frustrating for both sides and these poor people get beat up from time to time. Our asylums are probably full of people with names like Watt and Guess. I'm kinda busy writing these columns but somebody should maybe check this out.