Some Words...

Do you remember when your parents taught you the difference between the truth and a lie? I do. I was six years old and my brother was being his usual mean self by hanging my 'baby tenderlove' up by her neck from the garage door opener. I was so mad at him that even at six I was beginning to realize how sweet revenge could actually be. I snuck into his bedroom and took his GI Joe out of it's secret hiding place - the bottom of his hamper. Even though it smelled of dirty socks I stuffed it down my blouse and left his room as quietly as I'd come. I locked myself in my mother's bathroom and decided that GI Joe was quite in the need of a makeover. I shaved his head with my mother's razor (GI Joe had real hair you know), I painted his face with eyeliner and rouge, I took his clothes off and re-dressed him in Barbie's best gown. He was smashing to say the least. When the work was complete I put him right back in the secret hiding place as if he'd never left. I remember the anticipation of my brother finding GI was almost enough to drive a six year old mad. It took three days for my big bro to find him but when he did he let out a scream that could curl your toenails. He ran all over the house searching for my mom (he was such a mama's boy) and when he found her he dangled pretty GI Joe in front of her, "look what someone did to GI Joe," he yelled. I was tucked carefully behind the davenport watching the whole thing unfold. I could see that my mother was holding back a laugh as she consoled my brother but I also knew she'd soon be heading my way looking for an explanation. "NWC, do you know anything about GI Joe's makeover," she asked. "No mam, nothing," I replied. "NWC do you know that telling a lie is a sin?" "What's a sin," I asked. "A sin is when you know something is wrong and you still do it anyway," she replied. "So what happens if I sin," I asked. "Well, God will be very disappointed in you." I contemplated her words, I hated for anyone to be disappointed in me. "So NWC, do you know anything about GI Joe's makeover," she asked? "Yes," I replied, "he enjoyed it very much but I think next time I'll use a different shade of lipstick." My mother laughed until there were tears in her eyes and I started believing that lies did that to you, made tears appear. The older I got the more I realized I was right, lies sometimes make you laugh but most times they make you cry and there's nothing funny about that.

Yesterday I called my niece to wish her a happy birthday and I asked her what she special thing she was going to do to celebrate and she replied, "nothing." Her response wasn't unlike that of any other teenager but I was surprised when she followed up her statement with, "I'm not going to do anything special because I don't feel special and that's no lie." I told her she was wrong, I told her how special she was and that she better believe me because I was a person that could not lie. I told her that story I posted above hoping to convince her it was true...I was an honest abe. I'm not sure she believed me, that she was special, but she laughed and it was like music to my ears. Before we hung up the phone she told me that she believed me. "What, you believe that I cannot tell a lie," I asked. "No, I believe I'm special - I just hope people notice."

I noticed.