# Writing Workshop 5/01/2010: Learning to Lie



## kitreshawn (May 1, 2010)

Last week we had a great turnout.  Thanks to everyone for participating.  For those who are interested in last week's exercise go here.

This week we will be doing something different and no critiques will be necessary.  Even so anyone new who plans to become a regular should read the Writing Workshop Rules.

Anyway, on to business.


*The Exercise:*

In two or three sentences, write down three unusual, startling, or amazing things that happened to you.  One must be _true_.  The other two must be _lies_.  Here are three from me:

1) While driving on a military base I got lost and after coming around a blind turn came face to face with MP's pointing assault rifles at me.
2) While taking flight training after 9/11 I messed up and accidentally landed in controlled air space without getting clearance.
3) While watching the Red Sox play baseball when I was 10 I managed to catch 2 foul balls in the same game.  I managed to get the whole team to sign both of them.

Now everybody do one.

After you have written your 3 statements pick someone else.  Write any questions you want to ask details about their claims.  The author then needs to come up with more details in an effort to preserve their lie.  When you are confident you know what is true make a guess.

*The Objective:*

To understand how people exaggerate events in their lives and those of people they know (or just flat out lie).  In addition it helps to open up your imagination since writing fiction is not so different from lying.  It is surprising how many people can be good storytellers, able to find persuasive detail by simply making it up.


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## panzergulo (May 1, 2010)

1) While still living with my parents, I got arrested once, because the police found one of my father's guns in my room, only to be released after one day when my old man had convinced the police investigator it was his gun, not mine.
2) While in service in the Finnish military, my tank crew's gunner decided to turn the turret power on while we were driving on a public road once, and we almost managed to crush one army truck's windshield in with the barrel.
3) While in university, one professor refused to give me the full grade from one of his courses I had attended, even if I had managed to gather two points above the maximum points after the exam and bonus points from exercises, but he gave in (reluctantly) after I paid him a visit and complained (politely) about his error.

I don't know about amazing, but one statement is true, two are false, and I also claim all the three are in chronological order. Also, don't mind grammar errors, I wrote this really quick.


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## panzergulo (May 1, 2010)

kitreshawn said:


> 1) While driving on a military base I got lost and after coming around a blind turn came face to face with MP's pointing assault rifles at me.
> 2) While taking flight training after 9/11 I messed up and accidentally landed in controlled air space without getting clearance.
> 3) While watching the Red Sox play baseball when I was 10 I managed to catch 2 foul balls in the same game.  I managed to get the whole team to sign both of them.



My questions:
1)
- which military base, in which state?
- do you remember how many MP's were there to welcome you?
- can you tell what model of assault rifle did they use?
- what was your car's brand and model?

2)
- what was your plane's brand and model?
- where did you land, exactly? State/county/city/town, or what you happen to have in there were you landed?
- what kind of punishment did you get? Fines? Or something else?

3) Hmm... this is a bit harder for me...
- what year was it when you were ten?
- who was the biggest star of Red Sox during that season?

Yup... those are my questions for now.


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## Aden (May 1, 2010)

1. I caused my brother to need staples in his skull because of a dropped hammer from a ladder. I was two stories up; the flat side of the head nicked him.

2. I witnessed a carjacking at a gas station while sitting in a Dunkin Donuts across the street. Nobody called 911 until two minutes later.

3. While parasailing in CancÃºn, my tow boat ran out of gas and a slowly dropped the few hundred feet into jellyfish-infested waters. I had to wait there for 15 minutes until the boat was able to turn around and pick me up.




panzergulo said:


> 1) While still living with my parents, I got arrested once, because the police found one of my father's guns in my room, only to be released after one day when my old man had convinced the police investigator it was his gun, not mine.



How old were you? No bail hearing? Why did the police enter your room?



> 2) While in service in the Finnish military, my tank crew's gunner decided to turn the turret power on while we were driving on a public road once, and we almost managed to crush one army truck's windshield in with the barrel.



Remember the model of tank? How many men to a tank crew? What was your role in the crew?



> 3) While in university, one professor refused to give me the full grade from one of his courses I had attended, even if I had managed to gather two points above the maximum points after the exam and bonus points from exercises, but he gave in (reluctantly) after I paid him a visit and complained (politely) about his error.



What was his justification for ignoring numerical data? What class? What was his name and demeanor?


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## reian (May 1, 2010)

1)When I was 10 I was stabbed by my 4 year old sister.
2)I was recommended to re-do kindergarten again due to my lack of social growth.
3)I have awful OCD that compels me to clean absolutely everything in sight.


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## reian (May 1, 2010)

Aden said:


> 1. I caused my brother to need staples in his skull because of a dropped hammer from a ladder. I was two stories up; the flat side of the head nicked him.
> 
> 2. I witnessed a carjacking at a gas station while sitting in a Dunkin Donuts across the street. Nobody called 911 until two minutes later.
> 
> 3. While parasailing in CancÃºn, my tow boat ran out of gas and a slowly dropped the few hundred feet into jellyfish-infested waters. I had to wait there for 15 minutes until the boat was able to turn around and pick me up.



1)What were you doing that needed a ladder?
2)How old were you?  And if you were old enough don't you feel awful about not calling immediately?
3)What possessed you to go parasailling?


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## Aden (May 1, 2010)

reian said:


> 1)When I was 10 I was stabbed by my 4 year old sister.



With what? Why?



> 2)I was recommended to re-do kindergarten again due to my lack of social growth.



But they let you pass pre-school?



> 3)I have awful OCD that compels me to clean absolutely everything in sight.



To what degree? Organizing, dusting, polishing?





reian said:


> 1)What were you doing that needed a ladder?



Repairing a rain duct that got knocked askew during a storm. I was storing all my tools in the duct itself. Not a good idea.



> 2)How old were you?  And if you were old enough don't you feel awful about not calling immediately?



Hmm...never was good with particular years. I can tell you that it was late in high school and I got picked up by friends to get breakfast before school started. I didn't have a cell phone, one of the friends did.

Actually don't remember feeling awful. We were still in the "holy shit" phase when the manager of the Dunkin called.



> 3)What possessed you to go parasailling?



What do you mean? It was fun. The family was on vacation, and you try cool stuff like that on vacation.


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## NaotaM (May 1, 2010)

1. I was at a pavilion fair with my folks at Myrtle Beach when I found the most monumetal, pants-wettingly tall rock-climbing wall I'd ever seen looming over me, and before I knew it, I was crying like a bitch at the simple, stomach-wrenching pulling sensation of the harness they strapped me in. After a pathetic initial failure(my feet were barely a few feet off the ground), I maned, or ten-year-olded, up, scarfed the rest of my cotton candy, and clawed my way all the way to the top, my parents' cheers pushing me further whenever I hesitated or looked down. A man-sized plush panda with a Mr. Rogers smile was my reward. <3

2. While taking a relaxing shower on board a Princess cruise liner, my at-the-time two-year-old nephew Brandon walked in on me(fucking shitty-lock doors), and the shower walls were of course see-through. And then the ship tilted almost vertically on its axis...

3. I totally got laid. Twice. No lie.


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## NaotaM (May 1, 2010)

*tilted almost horizontally

Stupid me. ><


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## panzergulo (May 1, 2010)

Aden said:


> How old were you? No bail hearing? Why did the police enter your room?



I was seventeen years old.

You might have to define your second question... but if I have understood your question right, no, there was no bail hearing. (For the record, the Finnish legal system does not even have a thing equivalent to "bail hearing". At least my father has always been released without any bails. Maybe Finns are more law-abiding and appear to be judged without any bails.) The police in Finland can release people they have arrested at will if they have no reason to keep them arrested. It was the head investigator's decision, he believed my father and all accusations towards me were dropped, and I was set free. Ask again if this didn't answer your question.

They entered my room because my father had some problems with the police and they turned the whole house upside down to find all his guns. My mother was really annoyed because they had turned all her clothes over in her closet. I think she never put her clothes back to where they had been.

Why didn't you ask the brand and model of the gun?



Aden said:


> Remember the model of tank? How many men to a tank crew? What was your role in the crew?



Want to have a link to one of my Thursday Prompt responses? It's called 'Numbers'. It has _one hundred_ numbers and specs I remember from my time in service, including quite a number of tidbits about the one main battle tank I am trained to use. In a way, through asking these somewhat trivial questions, you insult my tanker's pride... only kidding. Here's the answers:

Leopard 2A4 FIN.

Four. Gunner, loader, driver, commander.

Driver.

Ask more. I love talking about my service.



Aden said:


> What was his justification for ignoring numerical data? What class? What was his name and demeanor?



Human error. We use numbers 0-5 in my university, zero means failed, one passed with lowest grade and five passed with highest grade. He ticked the wrong column when he was moving the grades from his papers to the computer, even if he had entered the points right.

Class? I believe you mean "course". The course in question was called 'Numerical Analysis 1'.

To defend the professor's privacy, I tell only his first name and the initial of his last name: Robert P. He's originally from Canada, but he speaks fairly fluent Finnish. Some older students have said he has very good language head, according to them he speaks English as his native language, but he speaks also very fluent French, fairly fluent Finnish and I have at least once heard him talking Spanish with one international student from Mexico. And, demeanor... I believe, you ask his demeanor while I was talking about the grade? First he joked: "So, why do you think you deserve the highest grade?" After I pointed out that I had earned two points above the maximum points and I think he had made an error, he was a bit annoyed, then even a bit bothered, but after digging the exam paper from his archives and double-checking the points, he gave up and said he would correct the grade before the following day. Next time I checked the grades, the correction had been made.


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## kitreshawn (May 1, 2010)

panzergulo said:


> (...)



1)
-Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM.
-Three.  One was a sergeant who told me to turn around and never come back.
-I honestly didn't look, but I would assume M16's.
-1987 Toyota Camery.

2)
-Cessna 172 Skyhawk.
-Santa Fe International Airport (Class D Airspace)
-I wasn't punished, but I did get quite a talking to.

3)
-I was 10 years old in 1993
-I don't know, I wasn't a Red Sox fan until after my grandpa took me to that game.


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## kitreshawn (May 1, 2010)

NaotaM said:


> 1. I was at a pavilion fair with my folks at Myrtle Beach when I found the most monumetal, pants-wettingly tall rock-climbing wall I'd ever seen looming over me, and before I knew it, I was crying like a bitch at the simple, stomach-wrenching pulling sensation of the harness they strapped me in. After a pathetic initial failure(my feet were barely a few feet off the ground), I maned, or ten-year-olded, up, scarfed the rest of my cotton candy, and clawed my way all the way to the top, my parents' cheers pushing me further whenever I hesitated or looked down. A man-sized plush panda with a Mr. Rogers smile was my reward. <3
> 
> 2. While taking a relaxing shower on board a Princess cruise liner, my at-the-time two-year-old nephew Brandon walked in on me(fucking shitty-lock doors), and the shower walls were of course see-through. And then the ship tilted almost vertically on its axis...
> 
> 3. I totally got laid. Twice. No lie.



Alright, my questions for you

1)
-Do you still have the plush panda?  If not what happened to it?  If so, who made it?
-How did the climbing harness work?
-Were you belayed from above or below?
-When you got to the top did someone have to help you up?

2)
-What caused the ship to tilt so much?
-Does your brother remember walking in on you?
-Where was the cruise to?
-How old were you at the time?
-What activities were there to do on the ship?
-Why were you on a cruise to begin with?

3)
-Where were you each time you were laid?
-How old were you your first time?
-Was it with the same person each time, or different people?
-Were you dating?  Or one night stands?


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## NaotaM (May 1, 2010)

kitreshawn said:


> Alright, my questions for you
> 
> 1)
> -Do you still have the plush panda? If not what happened to it? If so, who made it?
> ...


 
1) Unfortunately, no. We threw him out during this huge spring leaning spree my sister went on when she came down to visit in 2004.

I dunno, I'm bad at explaining how mechanical things work, actually. They just strapped me into this harness with a rope pully connected to the very top of the wall. I really hated that constant sensation of being hoisted up with no air under you.

Above, and help me _up?_ I was at the top. Pretty much just had to let go and the rope on the harness would help me drop steadily. Course, I didn't believe it would at the time. ^^;

2) Don't really remember. I asked, but my parents didn't have an explanation either, or I just don't recall. Perhaps a wave or some kind of test.

He was my nephew, and I doubt it, him being so young. No way in hell would I ever ask, anyway.

The cruise was a round trip that stopped at St. Lucia, Jamaica, Antingua and the Caimens(Caymens?). I was fifteen and pretty antisocial at the time, so I didn't realy participate in anything besides eat and swim, but I know there were sports like tennis and mini golf, huge pools, a disco and a kid and teenager's club with an arcade. And as for why we were cruising? Simple, vacation.

3) Once in my room, once in the back of my 98' Honda Civic. "Bad to the Bone" was playing.  I was seventeen my first time, they were different guys, and they were techincally one-night-stands, though we know and see each other all the time.


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## Seiiki (May 1, 2010)

1. I was with my Dad once at a fireworks display and as a joke, my Dad ran off and hid in some nearby bushes where he could see me. I freaked out I ran over to a police officer, crying my eyes out and then when my Dad jumped out to scare me the officer was not very happy. Luckily he only got a stern lecture. 

2. When I was in 9th grade I fell in love with my best friend Lillian. We were both girls and my family was never really fond of gay relationships. We ended up getting really close until my parents found out and forced me to go to a different school so that I couldn't see her. I haven't talked to her since. ;   ;

3. When I was about 5, I went out to Germany for my mom's friend's wedding. We ended up doing a tour around Europe and for awhile we stayed in France. While I was there I got to see the Eiffel Tower. My mom's friend and her husband were swinging me by my arms, but then my mom told them to stop because when I was younger my arms would pop out of their sockets often.


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## Hauke (May 1, 2010)

Seiiki said:


> 1. I was with my Dad once at a fireworks display and as a joke, my Dad ran off and hid in some nearby bushes where he could see me. I freaked out I ran over to a police officer, crying my eyes out and then when my Dad jumped out to scare me the officer was not very happy. Luckily he only got a stern lecture.



1) What was the holiday or event for the fireworks?
2) Did your dad yell anything when he jumped out of the bushes?




Seiiki said:


> 2. When I was in 9th grade I fell in love with my best friend Lillian. We were both girls and my family was never really fond of gay relationships. We ended up getting really close until my parents found out and forced me to go to a different school so that I couldn't see her. I haven't talked to her since. ;



1) Which school was closer, the one where Lillian went or the new one?
2) Did Lillian live closer to you than either of those schools?



Seiiki said:


> 3. When I was about 5, I went out to Germany for my mom's friend's wedding. We ended up doing a tour around Europe and for awhile we stayed in France. While I was there I got to see the Eiffel Tower. My mom's friend and her husband were swinging me by my arms, but then my mom told them to stop because when I was younger my arms would pop out of their sockets often.



1) When did your arms stop popping out of their sockets?  Or at least, when's the last time it happened?
2) Did one pop out more often than the other?


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## Hauke (May 1, 2010)

First:  My brother and I were hanging out with our neighbor, S., whose cousin was visiting.  We were running all over their property and ours, and found some wild marijuana.  We called it "ditchweed", it grew everywhere.  S.'s cousin tried to pick some and said he was going to sell it when he went back home to Chicago.

Second:  While at the Judo World Masters, someone was injured trying to recover from a throw; they didn't break their wrist but it was severely injured.  I was tapped by one of the organizers to drive this man and his two friends to the nearest hospital.  Only one (not the injured one) spoke English; they were all French.

Third:  I found that a skywalk connected the math building and the chem building on campus; I had keys to the math building and so in the dead of night I would wander around both buildings to take breaks from studying.  I once took a friend along; and that's how he met his girlfriend and future wife.


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## reian (May 1, 2010)

Aden said:


> With what? Why?


A parring knife to the chest.  My sister was born deaf and still couldn't speak by the age of four so we never quite found out the real reason, but something about me getting something she wanted.





			
				Aden said:
			
		

> But they let you pass pre-school?


Yes.  I went to a handicap pre-school where in their opinion I had progressed enough.





> To what degree? Organizing, dusting, polishing?


Organizing and vacuuming.  I despise dirty floors the most, and I absolutely hate not being able to find papers easily.


And to the parasailling I don't like water...let alone being above it...so yeah


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## panzergulo (May 2, 2010)

kitreshawn said:


> 1)
> -Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM.
> -Three.  One was a sergeant who told me to turn around and never come back.
> -I honestly didn't look, but I would assume M16's.
> -1987 Toyota Camery.



How well is the base connected with its surrounding areas? Are there lots of roads/streets to help traffic move in and out of the base? What are the surroundings of the base? Are there forests or mountains or rivers or cities or farming land or what?

What were you actually doing in the base? What style of clothing did the MP's use?

You misspelled Toyota Camry, or the model is called something different in Amerika... interesting... Okay, what color was your car? How did you get it?



kitreshawn said:


> 2)
> -Cessna 172 Skyhawk.
> -Santa Fe International Airport (Class D Airspace)
> -I wasn't punished, but I did get quite a talking to.



What do I say if I doubt your story? If I outright say what could possibly be wrong or false in it, I ruin the puzzle for others.

What kind of surroundings does the airport have? How near is it to Santa Fe? How many strips does it have? Why is it actually categorized as "Class D Airspace"? What is "Class D Airspace"?



kitreshawn said:


> 3)
> -I was 10 years old in 1993
> -I don't know, I wasn't a Red Sox fan until after my grandpa took me to that game.



Do you happen to remember where this game was? What city/town, what was the name of the field or what it happens to be called?

Also, why were you so keen to catch those foul balls if you even weren't a fan? Is your grandpa a Red Sox fan? If yes, then why?


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## Vintage (May 2, 2010)

1) met godfrey at a fishing tournament, got a signed autograph and a picture of both of us holding a sign advertising a forum i used to go to
2) when in iraq, went along with a friend of mine to an iraqi diplomatic luncheon without armor, security, or permission from anyone in my command
3) pushed my sister off the top bunk of a bunk bed when i was ten. she broke her arm and brings it up to this day

i'll have my questions in subsequent posts to keep them separated from these statements


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## kitreshawn (May 2, 2010)

Who still needs to have someone start asking questions about their 3 statements?


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## Gavrill (May 2, 2010)

Vintage said:


> 1) met godfrey at a fishing tournament, got a signed autograph and a picture of both of us holding a sign advertising a forum i used to go to


Which forum? What species of fish were you catching, or was it based more on all types of fish?


Vintage said:


> 2) when in iraq, went along with a friend of mine to an iraqi diplomatic luncheon without armor, security, or permission from anyone in my command


How did you get through?


Vintage said:


> 3) pushed my sister off the top bunk of a bunk bed when i was ten. she broke her arm and brings it up to this day


Why?

Posting mine in a second.


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## Gavrill (May 2, 2010)

1) I shot a 5-point buck with a shotgun that's a family heirloom. 
2) I used to be an acolyte.
3) I was shot by my cousin's BB gun.


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## Seiiki (May 2, 2010)

Hauke said:


> 1) What was the holiday or event for the fireworks?
> 2) Did your dad yell anything when he jumped out of the bushes?
> 
> 
> ...



It was for 4th of July and I we went out near the local firehouse to watch fireworks. He just yelled out a "RAAA!"

Lilly went to a closer school to my house, but I was forced to go to a vocational school. I would ride my old school bus from the house to my old school to another bus and off to my other school. I couldn't see her between the bus change because only vocational students could get off early to do it. Lillian lived about 25-30 mins away while my old school was about 15 mins. I would have gone over there myself once I had my license, but I didn't get it until I was 18 and my mom knew what times I got out of class and how long it'd take me to get home. I'm assuming that she is also off in college so I'm not going to bother her with past drama. 

My mom never told me a definite age when she'd tell the story, but I think it was around the age of 9 that it stopped. It was my left one that popped out. When I was really young I was pretty calm, but one time (I think I was about 7) I was with my grandma at the mall and there was a Disney store we always went into. Well I really wanted to go in so I yanked away so hard that it popped out of the socket. They didn't find out till weeks later when they noticed that I had stopped using my left arm.


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## kitreshawn (May 2, 2010)

Molly said:


> 1) I shot a 5-point buck with a shotgun that's a family heirloom.
> 2) I used to be an acolyte.
> 3) I was shot by my cousin's BB gun.



Finished my first one so I'll pick up someone else.

1) 
--Do you know what gauge gun it was?  Make/model?
--Solid Shot?  Buck Shot?
--How did it taste?  How did you cook it?


2)
--Acolyte in what?
--What did that mean?
--Did you have any duties?
--Why did you stop?


3)
--Gas or pump BB Gun?
--Make/Model?
--Did it hurt?
--How long did it take to heal?
--Where were you shot?


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## Gavrill (May 3, 2010)

kitreshawn said:


> 1)
> --Do you know what gauge gun it was?  Make/model?
> --Solid Shot?  Buck Shot?
> --How did it taste?  How did you cook it?


12 gauge, made by Crown. It's been under the house awhile, so I don't know the model.
Solid shot.
We made tons of deer jerky. Tastes kinda like turkey jerky actually (as in, it's leaner than beef).



kitreshawn said:


> 2)
> --Acolyte in what?
> --What did that mean?
> --Did you have any duties?
> --Why did you stop?


United Methodist Church. Kinda expected, my dad's a pastor.
Honestly, I'm not sure, but to answer both questions, all I knew was I wore a gown and lit the candles every morning and took up the offering.
I stopped when I moved in sixth grade.



kitreshawn said:


> 3)
> --Gas or pump BB Gun?
> --Make/Model?
> --Did it hurt?
> ...


This is a bit tough, as it happened when I was eight. It was a pump BB though.
Dunno the make/model, one of my older cousins bought it from a little shop set up during "Old Fashioned Day" in Willacoochee, GA.
I was shot right above my foot, and right under my shin.


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## Vintage (May 3, 2010)

Molly said:


> 1) I shot a 5-point buck with a shotgun that's a family heirloom.



-which state?



Molly said:


> 2) I used to be an acolyte.



-you said you stopped in sixth grade. is there an age limit imposed on methodist acolytes?



Molly said:


> 3) I was shot by my cousin's BB gun.
> -Dunno the make/model, one of my older cousins bought it from a little  shop set up during "Old Fashioned Day" in Willacoochee, GA.



-what is the premise of this "old fashioned day"? is it like a festival where people pine for the GOOD OLD DAYS, etc?


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## Vintage (May 3, 2010)

Molly said:


> Which forum? What species of fish were you catching, or was it based more on all types of fish?



- oh, that forum is long dead now. this happened when i was like, 15. i wasn't really there catching any fish; this happened at the base camp. and before you ask, i don't have the picture. quite a few hard drive failures and computer changes saw to that. i do have the autograph, though. somewhere.



Molly said:


> How did you get through?



- so we're basically driving through the iraqi desert in this old, beat up pickup truck with a few iraqi dudes, and they're going to take us to this awesome thing. i can't really tell you about it but it was going to be basically bread and lamb for a couple of hours with some really important guys.

my platoon leader, who wanted to do this BAD, already had his pistol and i was just given mine so we had weapons, but we were basically armorless and had no communication. i guess all of a sudden it just HIT HIM that what we were doing was totally fucking wrong, and he asked the kind gentlemen (actually, they smelled a bit but they were still cool) to turn around and take us back to the base. they obliged. simple as that. we didn't even make it there.



Molly said:


> Why?



idk i was a kid. i mean, cause i wanted to? i don't really remember. all i remember is DOING IT and then my sister was in a cast. maybe i wanted the top bunk, i don't know.


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## Gavrill (May 6, 2010)

Vintage said:


> -which state?


Georgia. More specifically, the Blue Ridge mountains.



Vintage said:


> -you said you stopped in sixth grade. is there an age limit imposed on methodist acolytes?


Well I'm sure there's an age limit, I think it stops when you turn 18. 




Vintage said:


> -what is the premise of this "old fashioned day"? is it like a festival where people pine for the GOOD OLD DAYS, etc?


I'm not actually sure, I've only been to it twice. But it has lots of homemade food, gun sales, and alligator meat. I think it's just an excuse to have fun.


Edit: I'm guessing that you're lying about #1 and #3, making #2 the truth.


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## Vintage (May 8, 2010)

oh, well i guess this is over, then!

i'll guess that you're lying about #2 and #3, leaving #1.

and mine was actually #1. in #3, my sister actually pushed _me_ off the bed and #2 is completely false. i did #1 for a site contest.


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## Gavrill (May 9, 2010)

I lied about #1 and #3, leaving #2 as my truth. So we both weren't able to tell. I like this exercise.


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## Seiiki (May 10, 2010)

My lies were 1 and 2 so the truth was 3.


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## Hauke (May 10, 2010)

Seiiki said:


> My lies were 1 and 2 so the truth was 3.



I should have put up my guesses earlier but I forgot about this because nobody said anything about mine...they weren't that interesting.  

I wasn't sure about 1 or 3 but I was pretty sure 2 was the lie.


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## Xipoid (May 10, 2010)

Hauke said:


> I should have put up my guesses earlier but I forgot about this because nobody said anything about mine...they weren't that interesting.



Then allow me.





Hauke said:


> First:  My brother and I were hanging out with our  neighbor, S., whose cousin was visiting.  We were running all over their  property and ours, and found some wild marijuana.  We called it  "ditchweed", it grew everywhere.  S.'s cousin tried to pick some and  said he was going to sell it when he went back home to Chicago.



- Do you remember when this was (in a relative sense of your age even)?
- Could you tell me the setting? Suburban? Country side?
- You mentioned he must return to Chicago. Where were you exactly?




Hauke said:


> Second:  While at the Judo World Masters, someone was injured trying to  recover from a throw; they didn't break their wrist but it was severely  injured.  I was tapped by one of the organizers to drive this man and  his two friends to the nearest hospital.  Only one (not the injured one)  spoke English; they were all French.



- Where were you in relation to the organizer?
- Were you competing?
- Do you recall any of the conversation?
- When did this all take place (in relative time even)?




Hauke said:


> Third:  I found that a skywalk connected the math building and the chem  building on campus; I had keys to the math building and so in the dead  of night I would wander around both buildings to take breaks from  studying.  I once took a friend along; and that's how he met his  girlfriend and future wife.



- Where did they meet?
- Can you describe the key in any way?


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## Hauke (May 10, 2010)

- Do you remember when this was (in a relative sense of your age even)?

It must have been 1982 or so; I was 11.

- Could you tell me the setting? Suburban? Country side?

Country.  We were about a mile outside the city limits of my home town (it had three stoplights and six thousand people living in it; very rural).

- You mentioned he must return to Chicago. Where were you exactly?

See above:  small town in Nebraska.


- Where were you in relation to the organizer?
- Were you competing?

I was not competing.  I didn't see the bad fall because I was standing at the door, checking to see if spectators had stamps on their hands before letting them back inside.  (I missed the cutoff age of competition by a year.)

- Do you recall any of the conversation?

I had to ask directions to the nearest hospital because I wasn't familiar with the area; the three guys didn't speak much.  The one who spoke English thanked me when we got to the emergency room; I offered to wait and give them a ride back but he said it wouldn't be a problem.  The doctor came in and said "I'll never understand guys like you...you're lucky you didn't get hurt worse."  And I left.

- When did this all take place (in relative time even)?

In 2001, I forget if it was in the spring or the summer.


- Where did they meet?

Basement of the chem building.  That's where all the chem TA's were stored.  :>  The gal was part of a group getting tutoring.

- Can you describe the key in any way?

Brass colored, had a code stamped into it (A6 something) on one side and "Do not duplicate" on the other.


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## Xipoid (May 10, 2010)

Hauke said:


> It must have been 1982 or so; I was 11.
> 
> Country.  We were about a mile outside the city limits of my home town (it had three stoplights and six thousand people living in it; very rural).
> 
> See above:  small town in Nebraska.



How old was S.'s cousin?
Can you describe the plant's surroundings?




Hauke said:


> I was not competing.  I didn't see the bad fall because I was standing at the door, checking to see if spectators had stamps on their hands before letting them back inside.  (I missed the cutoff age of competition by a year.)
> 
> I had to ask directions to the nearest hospital because I wasn't familiar with the area; the three guys didn't speak much.  The one who spoke English thanked me when we got to the emergency room; I offered to wait and give them a ride back but he said it wouldn't be a problem.  The doctor came in and said "I'll never understand guys like you...you're lucky you didn't get hurt worse."  And I left.
> 
> In 2001, I forget if it was in the spring or the summer.



What were you doing in the area in the first place? Just there to help?
A cutoff age is rather peculiar, but the presence of a round number (30) is not.
How far was the hospital from the competition? 
What else did he say? (The man who turned down the ride)



Hauke said:


> Basement of the chem building.  That's where all the chem TA's were stored.  :>  The gal was part of a group getting tutoring.
> 
> Brass colored, had a code stamped into it (A6 something) on one side and "Do not duplicate" on the other.



She was being tutored at dead of night? Would that be past midnight?
What were the circumstances of their crossing of paths?
What is the time frame for this?
How did the key come into your possession?



I will let you know my thoughts after these.


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## Hauke (May 11, 2010)

--How old was S.'s cousin?
--Can you describe the plant's surroundings?

He boasted that he was old enough to drive, but he wasn't 18 yet.  He was in town because S's older sister was getting married.  A lot of relatives of hers were coming in for the wedding.  

The marijuana was growing near a bunch of elms that surrounded a creek running between S's family's property and the neighboring farm.  It was a giant thicket.  We had to walk through a bean field to get there.


--What were you doing in the area in the first place? Just there to help?
--A cutoff age is rather peculiar, but the presence of a round number (30) is not.
--How far was the hospital from the competition? 
--What else did he say? (The man who turned down the ride)

I was drafted into helping because I was a member of one of the hosting schools.  Pretty much everyone with time off was leaned on by the instructor.  Thirty is the cutoff for the World Masters..like I said, I just missed it.  

It was probably about three miles.  I'd have to look at a map to be sure, since I don't remember exactly which streets were involved.  I don't get that far north into Scottsdale (Snottsdale) very often.

The man who turned down the ride was a bit put off by the dog hair in the back of my car.  I think they all were--that's why they turned down the ride back, in my opinion.  He commented on the fluff as it floated around (the windows were open as we went down the road).

--She was being tutored at dead of night? Would that be past midnight?
--What were the circumstances of their crossing of paths?
--What is the time frame for this?
--How did the key come into your possession?

Not past midnight, but likely past ten PM, surely!  It was a night class.  They met there while she was waiting in the hallway to get some papers back.  They met again at a party thrown by a girlfriend of another grad student I knew...and that was how I had the key, it was given to me to get into my own office in the math building (I was a TA).  This was back around 1995 at ASU.

Gosh..I wonder if I'm giving away so much that someone could deduce my real name!  :>


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## Xipoid (May 11, 2010)

Hauke said:


> Gosh..I wonder if I'm giving away so much that someone could deduce my real name!  :>



Mmm, almost.


I will say that #1 is false. Some of the information seems too specific, which is something people tend to do when they lie. #2 seems very beige and somewhat disingenuous, so I will place that as false as well. It was rather hard to make any guesses as they all were pretty laid back. In any case, I will enjoy my minimum of 33% correctness.


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## Hauke (May 12, 2010)

#1 was false; but #3 was the other false story.  #2 was real!


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