WHAGSAG

Sherri T.

WHAGSAG is far more than your everyday acronym. Rather, it is a strict directive that dear friend Tina tells her grandchildren very frequently. It is, in fact, a repeat-after-me command. “What happens at Grammy’s stays at Grammy’s.”

Of course, the words sound familiar. They are based on the famous “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” slogan. Credit for these oft-quoted words belongs to an advertising company, which had been hired to diversify the Las Vegas brand beyond its former wild-west image.

The message is simple: Any scandalous activities that take place when one travels to Vegas are not to be discussed with others afterward. It is a permissive pact, granting anonymity from actions and immunity from consequences. 

The slogan is recognized as one of the most successful marketing campaigns in tourism history. If it worked so well for Vegas, then why not for Tina? 

Take, for example, the rules on curfews. Those very strict bedtime decrees that grandparents seem simply unable to apply. Of course, when the granddaughters were young, they had no idea that they were going to bed later than the scheduled bedtime.

But as they grew older and more hour-aware, the soft curfew became a hard no. Do not. DO NOT relay this bedtime breach or Grammy will be in BIG trouble. This is serious WHAGSAG.

The second rule that Grammy would (accidentally?) break involved dress-up. What harm could there be in a bevy of bedazzled and bejazzled girls clomping around the house in the highest of heels? It would hardly turn them into street walkers. Right? Just in case, WHAGSAG.

Finally, the biggest breach of all. Going out for ice cream and – wait for it – eating it in the car.  Utterly verboten. A challenge to the world order. An act of defiance that should never be revealed to parents. Total WHAGSAG.

But let’s be clear. Tina never advocated that her grandchildren openly defy or lie to their parents. She was merely suggesting that they not feel obliged after every Grammy visit to provide full and complete disclosure. At the end of the day, in her view, some words (and deeds) are just better left unsaid.