Claiming What You Are Not.

[Smoke]

Have you ever been tempted to claim to be something you are not, just to rile up a friend or acquaintence?

Telling the truth about who I am is sufficient to rile up most of my relatives, even if I'd rather not.

However, I have said that my mother or my father was black -- I'm of European and Native American descent -- in the hope it would embarrass somebody who was telling a racist joke or expressing racist attitudes. It's usually a pretty effective way to change the subject. Now, as a beginning Quaker, I don't feel I should tell my little lie anymore. But it was fun while it lasted.