Many, many moons ago I was chatting with someone in the way friends chat. Nothing special I am sure. Probably the usual boring small talk about how the day was going. Then out of the blue the person says to me, “Hey, in case anyone asks you if you’re alright, just tell them everything’s fine.” My response was a blank expression of shock. And silence. “Well I overslept and missed a meeting. So I told the office that I was there before anyone else, but you called me in a panic because you got a flat tire and I had to leave to help you.” More silence. “Well, just in case.” I broke my silence to express my frustration with being asked to participate in a lie. (For the record, no one ever said anything to me. I think everyone knew it was a lie.)
I don’t want to have as friends those who can create an elaborate, or semi-elaborate, lie while midstride. First of all, to perform under pressure means they have had plenty of practice. Secondly, if a person will construct a lie to not be chewed out by the boss then I know they’ll lie to me to avoid being held accountable. Lastly, I’ll drive myself crazy trying to tease out the strands of truth from the manipulative bullshit. And I’m not into scat. ‘Cause no matter how much truth I find, there is still shit everywhere.
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