Sunday, February 6, 2011

Ernie Lied

What is a white lie and just how honest is it, how do you determine if it’s really a white lie or something the person telling it really believes, and how do you know if you are listening to the truth or getting your leg pulled so to say.

Talking with the kids always leads us to stretch the truth sometimes, like I did in Warm Worms, I have also mentioned in the past a situation with my son Scott, you know the one where I was telling him everything there is to know about the giant praying mantis he was watching, the praying mantis was sitting on a fence post swaying back and forth, Scott was really cautious because he was afraid it was going to get him, I eased his fears by having him move in a bit closer and told him to watch closely because the praying mantis is getting ready to jump onto the next post, I did mention that this was the biggest praying mantis I have ever seen..Right?

Next thing to happen was the praying mantis swayed widely and jumped, the wings spread and it was beautiful, until it made a sharp left and landed right in the middle of Scott’s chest, Scott immediately screamed at the top of his lungs and began to climb up me like I was a ladder, the mantis bounced off of his chest and landed on the post I had mentioned, now with this said I feel this tale was something I truly believed even though I may not have known everything there is to know about insects, Warm Worms could fall under the White lie rule but this one really wasn’t a lie, especially since the mantis landed right where I said it would.

A time when I lived in Texas, my neighbor Ernie who lived across the street was doing an oil change on his truck, his wife came out and asked if he was planning on changing the oil in her car too, he smiled and assured her that the plan was to do her car next, she went into the house, he turned to me and said “Jimmy you want to ride to the parts house”, we rode into town and bought the oil and filters he needed for his wife’s car with the promise to say we had gone into town for beer, so he wouldn’t look bad for forgetting her car.

Arriving back at his house he told Debbie we had gone for beer and he was doing her oil change now, I stood and watched as he drained the oil and added the new oil filter, Debbie came out to see how the oil change was coming, he told her that the car would be done as soon as he added the new oil, she stayed to watch, first quart in, second quart, Debbie says Ernie, he said just a minute, third quart, Ernie!! Fourth quart in, she says Ernie he says Just a minute Debbie, he is opening the fifth quart and she shouts ERNIE, he replies with a loud WHAT!! She asks why is all that oil on the ground, he looks down and says “nothing to worry about, I am just flushing the oil pan”, she smiled satisfied with the answer and went back into the house, Ernie looks at me and says Jimmy you want to ride to the parts house.

White lie number one was telling her that he had plans to do her oil change next, number two was saying we were going into town for beer rather than the parts he should have already bought, and number three was the oil pan flush story to cover that he had forgotten to replace the drain plug, three times a charm and Ernie lied.

It’s always best to tell the truth, but some situations call for a little fun, telling stories to the kids or grandkids call for stretching the truth a bit, especially when trying to ease their fears or reaching for a laugh, fishing tips sometimes call for this too especially when your wife isn’t with you, a mistake I only made once, but when telling your wife something you are going to do for her, it is best to be completely honest, going to town for oil and saying you went for beer just makes you look foolish especially if she asks for a beer, and flushing the oil pan makes you look really bad when you don’t have enough oil to complete the job.

Just tell the truth, I wouldn’t pull your leg on this one..

20 comments:

  1. Ha!! Growing up My daddy thought the word "lie" was to harsh for a girl to say. I was only allowed to say, "fib" or "pulling your leg"..This post reminded of some of those "fibs" he would play on us kids only to get a chuckle..
    Anothere great post Jimmy!!!

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  2. lol..funny story and yea telling your kids stories is great

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  3. We had a lot of problems with our oldest daughter and lying. A LOT! I found that the best thing to do is not ask if someone is lying to you,(because chances are, the person will lie about lying) just confront them with the truth.

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  4. "and number three was the oil pan flush story to cover that he had forgotten to replace the drain plug, three times a charm and Ernie lied."

    Bwhahahaahahahahhahaha! OMG, that made me HOWL!

    Yeah, I've been know to tell a few white lies myself. However, I like to think of them as 'slight exaggerations' - it's sounds so much nicer - HA!

    Fun story, Jimmy!

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  5. Hey Lynne, Your Dad sounds like a good man, fibbing with the kids always brings on a lot of laughs in the family, and lying is a bit harsh for a little girl, a fib does sound better.

    Thank You my Dear Friend.

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  6. Thank You Becca, Playing with the kids is great, it’s not hardly worth it if you don’t tell them a story or two :^)

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  7. Hey Bijoux, Yes I have been there with the kids also in the past, when they seriously are lying I have a major problem with that, Tim for one always told on himself while attempting to lie Ha Ha.

    “the best thing to do is not ask if someone is lying to you,(because chances are, the person will lie about lying) just confront them with the truth.” Excellent advice my Friend, Thank You.

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  8. Ron, I about busted a gut when he said that, I couldn’t believe she bought it either Ha Ha

    Slight exaggerations or stretching the truth as long as it’s just fun and not an outright lie I see no major problem, Thank You Buddy!!

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  9. Haha what a cute story!! White lies are called white lies because they are harmless. Sounds like Ernie was good at coming up with quick ones!

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  10. Beautiful! I LOve your Blog!

    And NO--that isn't a white lie--It's big fat one!

    ar ar--You know better--?? Don't you? DON'T YOU????

    Great thought provoking real life stuff as always my friend.

    John

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  11. Hey Tress, Thinking back I remember him always being able to come up with an answer rather quickly, harmless fun is what it is all about :)

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  12. Thank you John..I Think :),

    I do appreciate you coming here and telling me a lie whether fat or white because I know deep down the truth is coming right behind them :^)

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  13. My mum dosen't lie she just has a way of shaping events in her head to make a completely different version of what has happened, it always intresting listening to her recount something which I had been there for and hear her add bits or remove bits, but in her head I really think she now believe thats how those events unfolded.
    Then there are the lies that we tell children ie There is a Santa, easter bunny and tooth fairy my brother called me cruel for not doing the whole Santa thing, I would rather my little boy know that the gifts he is recieving are from family and friends who value his exsitance than some dude who comes down a chimney.

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  14. Hey Chibi Janine, Funny how you can have five people experience the same event and there will be five different stories on what happened, and then folks like your Mom do add or leave out things too, but it’s all good.

    The fantasy and fairy tales of Santa and the Easter Bunny are a lot of fun for the little ones; lie or childhood story just depends on the choice of the parents and how they want to handle it.

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  15. Thank You Barb, Glad you enjoyed it my Dear Friend.

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  16. Oh Man. Tough one;)
    Having kids makes this one tricky for me. I just have to tell my kids...white or otherwise...a lie is a lie. It's good for me to remember too;))

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  17. Now that is just too funny...and Debbie bought it, hook,line, and sinker!

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  18. Hey Dawn, True thing, A lie is a lie no matter what, but I still believe in Santa ;^)

    Truth does carry a lot of weight with me, you can't go wrong with honesty.

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  19. Yes SuziCate, She bought it hook, line, and sinker or either played it off so well and settled up with Ernie later.

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