I guess my first venture in to “fabrication” occurred with the fire chief. I don’t remember talking to “Chiefy” Martin, but the story goes I had a fishing pole or stick, with twine and a safety pin and was fishing in the two foot creek. “Chiefy” asked me if I’d caught anything and I said “…four”. When he asked where they were, I replied, “I’ve already eaten them.”

I distinctly remember my second, more serious, lapse. My dad gave me a white envelope with 50 cents in it for each Sunday’s collection plate. At about age five, I absconded with the fortune, not realizing he counted the money. When he asked where I’d acquired the shiny piece I told him from “Brownie Swan” who played the piano along with my mom in the church. Not a good answer. Although Brownie was beautiful, a fact I realized at five years, and while she seemed amused, my father didn’t.