Whispering Grass

What is it about whispering that makes us pay more attention to other folk's conversations? Talk in a low voice and nobody pays much attention, but there's something about whispering which makes us all sit up and take notice..... or is it just me. If you have something private to say, say it quietly don't whisper, whispering is the surest method of drawing attention to the juicy gossip or that embarrassing situation you were in the previous night that you don't want revealed. And of course the very worst place to whisper is in the back of my cab. You should know that all taxi drivers suffer from selective hearing, moan about the fare or the rotten weather as loud as you wish and we just smile and nod and not hear a word, but whisper "keep the change" and our hearing is suddenly superhuman. Just this week two guys huddled together and whispered in the back of the cab and of course I could hear every word that was said. It seems that the latest batch of grass or cannabis to arrive in town is chopped very finely and one of my fares was worried that he had been duped, and sold oregano instead. This was soon checked out by the guy who said he was more experienced, tasting and smelling the dope. Whether he meant that he was more experienced in Italian cookery or dope is open to question.
Most women seem to be wise to the fact that whispers draw attention, and tend to talk in code and hand gestures. That is apart from the pair I had in the back of the cab today who exchanged juicy details of the night before by text message, yes even though they were sat right next to each other. Going by the giggles it sounded as if they had had a good night between them.