Sunday, January 11

Little Deceptions.

I guess we are all guilty of little deceptions.

Sometimes it is little lies we tell ourselves, to make us feel better about a situation or something we have - or have not- done.

We can represent ourselves in one light, when telling a story, so as not to appear the 'baddie' in the story. Or we can exagerate- which is a form of deception- to make the story funnier or sadder.

Then there are the little white lies we tell, to be kind to someone.
"Does this shirt make my bum look big?"
Thinks, 'why yes, it looks like a tea trolley!'
But what you actually say is "No, really, it looks fine."

I really intended to post about a little white lie of sorts, that I told my mother, after an adventure out with my brother.

Over the years there have been many white lies to Mum, but most of them I did come clean about in later years. This is not one of them.

This is a photo of my Beloved Brother, & I, on my wedding day in 1966.



I could post this, & say this is us. It would be true, but it would also be a deception, because this was us.


This pic would be more accurate. This was us in November 2008.


Much closer to the reality of today.

This is a self taken pic, in the mirror, & it was taken yesterday, so I suppose it is about as real as I can get.


The story I wanted to retell, is about a trip my BB & I took back to our little old hometown. It is some years ago now.
Since our mother has been gone for 11 years, it is well before her death.

I used to try to get over to New Zealand once a year to visit my mother. Though we lived far apart, we were very close & she was always one of my best friends.

My BB had to borrow our mother's car for this trip. I think she felt unwell, & wanted us to have the trip anyway. She made me promise not to let BB do anything 'stupid' with her car.

I should add, that he would have been in his late 40s when this trip took place.

Off we went, calling on relatives scattered over the North Island, & generally having a lovely time.

When we got to our former hometown, we visited rellies still living there, then went off on a tour of the town, to revisit our grandmother's old house, where we grew up. Gone were the beautiful fruit trees of our childhood, & where the hen house & pen had been there is now a 2 storied house.

Our grandmother's house is still standing, though it has been renovated. It looks far smaller than our memories had painted it!

The road where the house is, had been a rural road, in our day, leading up to many farms, & most of it had been gravel, back in the day. There was also rumoured to be a designated road to Rotorua, at the very top of that road.

BB had always been determined he was going to travel that road to Rotorua, one of these days.

He became obsessed with the idea that we could do it, in Mum's car, on this trip. I laughed & lightly scoffed.

However, he became like Toad of Toad Hall, & he set off to prove he could do it. Of course I knew our mother would consider this doing something 'stupid' with her little car.

On & on he drove, the sealed road ran out eventually after the housing estates ended, & on he went, bouncing us around on the rough potholed road.

I began to suggest he was taking this too far, we had better turn around, & go back. The more I white knuckledly clung to the seat as we jounced & bounced around the more determined he became.

Finally, at the blackberry, tussocks, rocks, & huge open gully stage, he listened to reason. To this day he still maintains that had we kept going, we could have been in Rotorua!

Of course, on returning home safely to our mother, the first thing she asked me was had he done anything stupid in her car. Of course, not wanting to get him into hot water, I lied & said "No". I suspect Mum knew, deep in her heart that he had attempted to make that drive, but we all kept the pretence.

I have had other trips with BB, just the 2 of us. We have had a lot of fun together & get along very well. Mostly.

When he gets his Toad instinct I have to get quite sharp to bring him to his senses! He became obsessed with reaching a beach, which we had been told by locals, was 'just over the hill'.

This was in very hostile bush covered hilly country in coastal Australia, near the birthplace of our Grandfather, & BB became sure our grandfather had walked this beach, & he wanted to do so for himself.

After the small rental car had almost been swallowed up in huge ruts, among the gum trees, & almost flipped over, in parts, as it struck huge boulders, & huge roots of trees, I finally convinced BB that the locals had been pulling his leg, & we were not covered for travel on rutted rain rivened goat tracks'unpaved roads', so we had better get onto sealed roads again smartly.


No doubt he will claim I have exagerated things a little!


In spite of the misadventures here & there, we have had a lot of fun travelling together, over the years.


Neil Diamond, Porcupine Pie. I have no idea what the makers of this vid were doing but it is the best version of the song, which is fun.

47 comments:

Stomper Girl said...

I do love that wedding photo. So your brother never went back with his own car to see if he could do it?

carloesse75 said...

Hello! Apologize for my writing in English full of errors. I'm an Italian guy who looks a few blogs for information.
I would leave a positive comment on the post well done. My passion to write poetry, my goal would be to open a room in Paris to go on living.
Thanks for your understanding dimenticavo beautiful photos .....
a greeting Carlo

Thimbleanna said...

Fun story Meggie! Isn't it funny how, as children, we all "covered" for each other?

Tiger said...

Fanks for a nice story!

But who is bb? Please.

Lee said...

The smile has survived the years!

Mike said...

Boy, if the two of you don't look guilty of something in that first picture, I don't know who does.

Funny story Meggie and somehow I can just see the two of you on your "adventures."

Catalyst said...

Meggie - Just looks like a normal trip to me!

VioletSky said...

Love the hat!
And BB definitely has a mischievous grin!!

Mary said...

Like Stomper I love that wedding photo of you and your brother

but I love the current photos too!

molly said...

This made me think of when my oldest daughter was little. She was a quiet child and serious, not much interested in wild adventures, or worse yet, exploring! But I was always turning up laneways and byways "to see where they went!"

Rosie said...

those white lies make the world go round...

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

I think it's great how well you and your brother get along. The video brings back memories too. This was the song I learnt when I was young instead of nursery rhymes or Dr. Suess. Never really understood where Ol' Neil was going with this but I liked it. Vanilla soup actually does sound appealing!

shara said...

I don't know if you have been back to my blog, but I wanted to make sure that you know your comment meant a lot to me. Thank you.

I too LOVE the wedding pic, AND your self-portrait.

And, I know I am showing some ignorance here, but, often if you don't ask you don't find out- what/where is "Rotorua"?

Feel free to stop by anytime!

Kitty said...

Deception - it's a huge issue isn't it? I think as long as one is 'basically honest' then the little deceptions along the way - to save the feelings of others - are justifiable. But perhaps that says more about me than about the issue of deception?!

I'm crubbish at lying ('real' lying) - never get away with anything. I learned as a child it was better not to try.

x

fifi said...

Dear Meggie
You're gorgeous. Now.
Love
Fifi

Anonymous said...

Meggie --That Wedding photo of us was taken before I inadvertently managed to ' torch ' that mans crimplene suit coat in the Pub with my cigarette, leaving his coat with a huge smouldering hole in the back It looked almost like the opening credits of the old Bonanza TV show !I can see it still & can remember my horror ,but also morbid fascination and near hysteria as his coat burned up, with him being totally unaware of what was happening !
Our beloved mother Mary was Toad behind the wheel -- never me haha !Mary was with us on that trip , but was waiting in the Motel while we went for a drive about the town .
The road does in fact exist , through to the city of Rotorua and is driven often I am told . In our childhood it was just a track. As always I was very biddable and stopped when you asked me to haha.
As to the Australian trip -You were already feeling less than flash and were a peculiar shade of almost luminous green as you lurched out of the " Clean and Fresh " Composting Toilet of W. I agree the ' road ' through the Nature Reserve to the beach was pretty rugged though and it was probably best that we did turn back there .
Trips to those two destinations would have to be on my ' Bucket List' still. One day !

New Mum Online said...

Having read that, all I can say is you are such an entertaining writer. What a fabulous blog. I haven't written the letter to my Mum yet, but aim to do so today :-)

Rosaria Williams said...

Meggie,

What a delightful story you weaved, about you, your brother, the adventures you shared,

Then, you added music as well.
Thank you.

sixtyfivewhatnow.blogspot.com

Rosaria Williams said...

Meggie,

What a delightful story you weaved, about you, your brother, the adventures you shared,

Then, you added music as well.
Thank you.

sixtyfivewhatnow.blogspot.com

Granny J said...

You remind me, Meggie, of me goading my LB to travel out into the desert, though he was used to travel in OZ on the Wrong Side of the Street. Once his wife was with us and she white knuckled all the way.

Gail said...

Not remembering how I arrived here, I cannot tell you. Wonderful post, your words made me feel I was in the car with you.

rae goedeman said...

Hi Meggie,Im Rae and stumbled across your bb blog.Its 12.30am in Cape Town.South Africa now,it seems like day to me as sleep doesnt want to come!What do i expect?? I claimed this day for myself.,,Mom u not making lunch?,, my 23yr old baby..,No!!..Im on strike...thus reading blogs now is heavenly esply yours.will follow henceforth.Godbless

Coachdad said...

Read this yesterday with my kids next me and we listened to Porcupine Pie together. Over and over again... they loved it.

orneryswife said...

The story was delightful, but oh, my. The video cracked me up!! I don't think I have ever heard that particular ND song, but I am pretty sure had I done, I would have memorized the words and tried to sing it smiling like the guy in the video. Yeah, that was great fun!
tm

Anonymous said...

Hey!

Check out my blog: www.mmhighlights.com

[:

Michelle said...

"Rellies" new word I intend to use again soon! :)
Great story, thanks!
(givingtree2009.blogspot.com)

Mahesh Sindbandge said...

Hi meggie,

That was fantastic.
I mean this is one of those untold stories which lie behind the real ones retelling it again and again.But no one listens to them cuz the noise created by repeated stories is so loud enough that we ignore the little little things in our life which actually matter alot to us in life.
Keep it up.
it shows lot of wisdom one has gained over the years.
I liked your articles on LETTERS also.
Hoping to see more and more from you.
Have a nice time.

Its ME said...

Hi meggie, you are growing graciusly and maturing in your love, thanks for inspiring words of truth here too.
Love to see you at Healthy Wealth at http://theinnozablog.blogspot.com

happy logging too

Ralph said...

Whine, whine, whine. Complain, complain, complain. That's all some people like to do. Well you know what? I'm 100% with you. White lies. They're ok once in awhile, but they lead to a life of squeamishness and anxiety. Let's get a little serious, huh? Tell some truths once in awhile, rights? That's what I'm saying boss.

vicki archer said...

Don't you think mothers always have an inkling that their children might not be entirely telling the truth. Lovely story, xv.

New Yorker wannabes said...

Greetings from Greece!

Thank you for leaving your comment in my blog and for the interesting story!

It is true that sometimes lies are better than the actual truth...I think I heard this quote in a TV series and it goes like this (I think)..."Lies are like children. They need to exist otherwise the world comes to an end..."

Take care now
love and peace
xoxo

Patsy said...

Meggie, this article about little white lies and deceptions reminds me of something I posted about a year or so ago on the Aristotelian definition of truth. I invite you to see it at the site below. Meanwhile, I am enjoying your life stories and lessons learned. -Lorna


http://lornacheyenne.wordpress.com/

Neo said...

a good post, I enjoyed, brought back some memories of me and my little bro hanging out @ long island one summer.
when I want to embed a tune with a post I go here http://widgets.grooveshark.com/make?copy=1&widgetid=343399#

you can find just about any tune there
take care

Anonymous said...

wow!!

well kids are liars

Anonymous said...

wow!!

well kids are liars

Sarah said...

Oh, if mum could hear you now! I like the pictures very much; you look mischevious--at best. =}

Have a great day!

Sarah

DogsDeserveFreedom said...

congrats on being listed on blogs of note. I'll be sure to return

DogsDeserveFreedom

The Fibers of Life said...

Hello Meggie,
I love your blog and like many others, you can thank Blogs of Note for my finding you. I'm a new blogger and am really learning a lot from reading other's blogs. I was particularly delighted to find all the quilting blogs as I am a quilter as well. I love the vids you posted and what a great idea. A new skill to add to my blog.
You have a lot to say and a wonderful way of saying it.
MaryLou Rupp
Eagle Point Oregon

Unknown said...

What a great story. I think with my brothers and sisters it was more getting the other in trouble then it was covering their bums LOL

Anonymous said...

Both photos, older, newer, are great! Love them.

Mahesh Sindbandge said...

Hi meggie,

Can i take the photographs of yours with your brother( both 1966 and 2008).
I am really touched with it and i thought to write a post on the same.
let me know if thats fine with u.

Regards
Mahesh

Devil's Advocate said...

hello

i wanted to blog about something like that as there's been some deception going on. anyways, reading this invokes similar thoughts in my mind. we do deceive little by little in our lives.

dropped the idea of writing something similar. :)

Miss Feona said...

It's so strange going back to the places that you were raised.
Several years ago I also returned to New Zealand, though in the south island. Our old villa beach house was gone, only a concrete outline of it was still there, all the gardens I'd claimed as my own when I was tiny were gone too. The house was more than massive when I was little, the one story high garage was two stories high (of course) and every room took five minutes to walk across. When I looked at the area of forest my friend, siblings and I used to run through and have adventures in...I could almost see to the other side where the trees ended, the hollow tree couldn't be hidden in any more and the fairy garden that I'd made was just a shadow.

All this happened and I'm not even that old yet. I wonder how it'll look when I'm in my thirties?

Lovely wedding photograph by the way, you look gorgeous in it.

It's funny how things change.

Q said...

One of my brother's and I drive five hours to see an Aunt once a year. It is a road trip I love. We have so much fun singing and telling each other stories.
Wonderful post.
Thank you,
Sherry

Kelsey's Elsewhere said...

I just have to say.
You were & still are beautiful.
And your brother was and still is very good-looking.
=]

Anonymous said...

You haven't changed a bit ;)

Alice said...

Wonderful stories and memories, and the little deceptions are just added spice.