Guess the Lie

I liked Charlotte’s guess the lie post and decided I wanted to do it myself, but then I realized I do so much navel gazing, it would be pretty hard to come up with a lie that wasn’t immediately recognizable as such. Thus, I decided to turn to my family for help. Why not relive that childhood need to brag about my forebears and relatives a bit? So, below are six things that may or may not be true about relatives of mine. Only one is a lie. Take a stab at figuring out which one, let me know in a comment, and I’ll post the answer sometime soon (and maybe elaborate on all the truths a little while I’m at it). And sorry, Froshty, Ian, and Lindsay. For obvious reasons, you’re not allowed to play.

1. My great, great grandfather was a U.S. Congressman who decided to quit after one term, because he was fed up with all the nastiness he found amongst all those “distinguished” gentlemen.

2. My mother wasn’t my father’s first wife. His first wife was a well-known stage actress.

3. Dar Williams, the folksinger, is my cousin, and I’ve attended a number of her concerts with her parents.

4. The summer before I was born, my parents were living in England and were invited to have tea at Buckingham Palace.

5. I have one cousin who is the only person to have trekked solo, without re-supply, from Canada to the Geographic North Pole. Meanwhile, one of our other forebears led the members of a mountain climbing expedition to their deaths while attempting to climb the Matterhorn in his sneakers.

6. My great grandfather was an architect who designed, among other things, a house for Woodrow Wilson and the church in which Bob and I were married.


Invisible Cities in a nutshell: HUGE sigh of contentment! I’m sure this book was chock full of allusions that eluded me, but I’m sighing anyway, because it didn’t matter, its being such a beautifully, mathematically, ingeniously composed symphony of words (and so much more). Anyone read anything else other than If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler they’d recommend next?

Freaky Friday in a nutshell: about halfway through this book, I found myself thinking I could see why it would appeal to pre-teen girls, and why I liked it as a kid, but it really wasn’t something for adults. By the end of it, I’d changed my tune and felt it was a perfect book for adult “girls,” as well, one I will definitely share with my pre-teen friends (who’ve probably already all seen the movie) and their mothers.