Evening star., 1927-05-16
SUB ROSA
BY MIMI.
Ella borate Excuses.

| We've spoken often about he folly
of making excuses of any kind as a
general rule.
Nobody believes you, anyhow, after
you've offered the hundredth excuse.
So why bother to make any at all?
It's absurd to take the trouble to
concoct the tales we girls tell each
other about neglect to telephone or to
| be on time or to keep a date.
The more, elaborate our excuse is,
the more easily is the he detected.
Mary says to Bob: $50 sorry /
have to break the date with you this
evening. But, you see, my mothers
been awfuliy i'll. And she lsists that
| take her down to the Doctors to-
mig I've just got TO do it. She'd
be awfully hurt if l didn't
This beautiful story has been mand-
factured entirely out of thin air. but
Mary's imagination is good, and she's
prepared to furnish these little yarns
whenever the occasion demands.
"Well, says Bob, reasonably
enough, whats to prevent my taking
you both down in my car and waiting
until your mothers through? She
won't be dow. there all night"
Perfectly sound. Bob, perfectly
sound, but it puts Mary in the awk-
ward position of having to go on with
more and more elaborate falsehoods.
Every complicated fib we tell gets
us in deeper and deeper. The simplest
| fib is the short one, and even that is
| more dangerous than the plain truth.
Why is it that the average girl
| seer to think she can get out of any
thing if she only makes her excuse
| long and tangled enough?
| Every dame in the country appears
| to have the idea that a great deal of
plot will cover up the falsehood of her
story.
| She doesn't realize. apparently, that
| the more details she puts into her
little white lie the more trouble she's
| in for.
/ m self instinctively distrust the
girl who. tells me over the phone ''My
dear, I've tried to get you for two full
| hours. 1 had the manager on the
wire, and told him / was sure you
were there, but he said there was no
answer, just the same. It's dreadful.
I knew you must be waiting for me
to call, but what could / do?" etc.
Almost Immediately I come to the
conclusion that the young lady gush-
ing over the wire at me is hiding the
fact that She didn't even remember
she had made a promise to call me.
Elaborate excuses will make even a
man suspicious. 1t takes lot more
to rouse their suspicious than ours,
but the overlong story full of apologies
and explanations gradually gives him
the impression that something is be.
ing concealed.
If any one of you find it impossible
to tell the truth, for Heavens sake
don't resort to long-winded lies to get
you out of a difficulty.
Keep quiet if you possibly can.
Silence is a thousand times better
than fib at any time. for at least it
commits you to nothing and let's you
in for no cross-questioning.
Don't, for goodness sake, let your
tongue run away with you in the at
tempt to make such beautiful story
that nobody could possibly attach any
blame to you for falling to DO that
from which you are excusing yourself.
Remember that the more YOU talk
the more untruthful you sound.
An elaborate excuse $ not as good
as the truth. Tt neither sati:,fies nor
convinces your friends. 1t brands you
as a chronic liar. Why try IL?