Thursday, October 23, 2008

pants on FIRE!


Why do people lie?
Why do some make up stories,
based on true stories,
and then present it as the truth?

Why did my uncle think he had to do this?
Why did he go to the extent of printing his lie
on a brass plaque for the world to see?

I've been thinking about this for three days.
Three days ago.... that's when I saw it....his lie.
First in black in white in the local paper....
then in bronze on a plaque for the world to see!

As I read the inscription I was moved...
at first.
There were the names of my grandparents.
Big font.... in bronze, their names.

I didn't know my grandfather.
I did know my grandmother.
When I saw her name...
I cried.
I miss her.
I love her.

Then, I saw the last sentence
on the plaque...
attached to the building
my grandparents built in the 40's.

The last sentence is a lie.

His best friend was standing by.
He saw me reading the plaque...
and announced to bystanders
that I had come to see my history.

I had.
I was standing in front of the building
The building....my grandmother designed.

I saw her drawings.
She drew them first
on napkins.
She used to drive me by the building
and tell me the story of how she was inspired.
She was most proud
of the curved, glass block corners.


But instead...
written in brass

he says,
at the age of eight,
he came up with the idea
for the curved, glass block corners.

He didn't.

But for some reason
he needed to steal this accomplishment
from my grandmother.

In the scheme of things
it is not that big of a deal.

But, in the scheme of things it is a lie.

And lies
are
always
a
big
deal
to me.

I have pictures I will share
of the lie cast in bronze.

And on this blog...
in this space...
I will tell the truth
for my grandmother's sake.
and made it his own.

Lies...
not even bronze cast lies
can replace the truth.

The very woman who
taught me to laugh...
he has robbed for his
own
glory.
I'm not laughing.


4 comments:

Reverend Shawn said...

Ah ... now I know why you and I have become friends ... I can not and will not abide a lie ... must be the Presbyterian Blood in us !!

Proclaim the TRUTH wherever it may be my friend !!!

Caroline said...

Oh dear, how little he must think of himself....that's sad. Don't grieve too much over it, from what you say about your grandmother she would probably have called him an ass and laughed at the whole thing. What is really sad is that he knows he has lied and so do you and a few other people, and he has to live with that..in brass...for ever.
Sorry you have been upset xx

PT Pastor said...

Small people have to lie and take credit from others. Big people often give credit to others for thing they have accomplished and those of us in the middle suffer the folly of others.

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