While most human beings will engage in making some excuses in their lives, the common Ben Franklin saying “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else,” may be more of a self-fulfilling prophesy for excuse-makers than simply avoidance or laziness. Whether excuses are used to shift blame or improve what other people think, it may be easier for excuse-makers to live with excuses than think about living with having tried at something and failed.
Post an example of the most outlandish excuse you've ever heard that you know was a lie. What was the outcome?
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I love Garfield (the cat) and of course garfield tends to be on the "I don't wanna" side of life and trys to avoid things that envolve personal energy.
ReplyDeleteAt one time I weighed 127 pounds (I'm 5'1") I was beginning to look a little fluffy.
I was complaining to my mother and my mom said, "Well Jerrie, just get into shape!" my retort back to her was from the wise wisdom of Garfield. I said, "Mom... round is a shape!".
As you can see the idea of getting up and doing something didn't appeal to me and I avoided doing so with a very dumb excuse...
When I was a kid, after my parent's were divorced, I overheard my mom talking on the phone to one of her friends. She was worried about how she was going to pay the light bill. Being concerened and feeling that I was now the man of the house I asked if everything was O.K. I was 7. She lied and said yes that everything was O.K. That night our power got cut off. That night I fell asleep holding my little sister in my arms to protect her from the dark and the muffled crying of my mother. That night I repeated the thinly vieled lie to my sister that everything was O.K. when I knew it wasn't. That night I realized that moms make excuses too just as I had did . So the next day after school I got my red wagon from the backyard and dumped a bunch of toys in it. I started at one end of the street and sold all my toys to the neighborhood kids. I gave my mom $18 and told her she could pay the light bill. She started crying and I told her everything ws going to be O.K.
ReplyDeleteMy father had been laid off in the early part of April, around the same time that he had been evicted from his residence. With much reluctance on my part, I permitted him to stay with me under the explicit agreement that it would be only for a short while. Three and a half months have passed since he has been reemployed, and I have sternly insisted on his departure since that time. His audacious excuse for not leaving has been "I can't afford it." Probing as to why he can't afford a simple apartment of his own, far removed from me, he confesses that he hasn't "been able to save anything." A shocking revelation, as I haven't charged him rent, and a quick calculation on my part shows that since his reemployment, nearly $3,000 has passed through his hands, no less than $150 a week spent frivolously. The result has been an evaporation of the last ounce of trust and confidence that I've preserved for the man.
ReplyDeletewow, your stories are slightly deeper than mine...
ReplyDeleteThat, Jerrie, is why you never volunteer to go first.
ReplyDeletehmmmm.... an outlandish excuse i can think of is those that come with relationship territory. For example when you dont really like someone you can always think of an excuse to avoid going out with them such as "i have homework to do", "im grounded" (even though you dont live with your parents anymore lol), "i wont be feeling well that day " etc etc... or maybe even the traditional i have been so busy i didnt have time to call, or text, or have any type of contact with you for that matter:).... but anyhow back to the point... i think the result of such excuses is actually worse than just confronting the person and saying hey im just not that into you.. becuase then you start leading the person(s) on and they are slightly confused not to mention irritated when they find out you were really just an act the whole time... true story:)
ReplyDeleteLately I have been playing super mario bros and everytime i lose i make the excuse that its been a long time since ive played that game.
ReplyDeleteIt's not you, it's me. As lame as I know it does sound, I've used this line several times to try to get out of those sticky uncomfortable break up situations. Obviously, it was something about them that I just wasn't into, or something else that I was more into but being a very non-confrontational kind of person, it's infitely easier for me to say that the reason is my deal, and not theirs. Turns out, using this super lame old and heard excuse will usually leave the other person wondering what the real reason is. Basically there is no easy way to break up, no fun all around.
ReplyDeleteI was going to post something on here earlier, but a group of ninjas broke into my house and stole my computer while I was saving a busload of crying orphans.
ReplyDeleteThe worst excuse I ever heard, was a female student who was black and blue in the face saying that even though her guy beat her up, she still knew deep in her heart "that he loved her!" So instead of leaving him, she still continued on in the dysfunctional abusive relationship!
ReplyDeleteI've heard so many lame (terrible) excuses in my day...whether in real life or on t.v./in a movie. Most recently, in real life, my step-daughter and her maternal grandparents conspired to lie to my husband about back to school shopping. Her mother is deployed and she is currently staying with her grandparents. She told us this elaborate lie about how her g's had not yet taken her clothes shopping for back to school (which we were told they would be), but had taken her uncle (who is her same age). My husband spent several hundred dollars on back to school clothes for her (in addition to the child support he pays) because he thought she needed them and was upset her g's would act this way. I later discovered (while searching through her txt msgs on her cell) that she, at the direction of her g's, had told us this lie to get more clothes and that they had, in fact, already taken her shopping. When my husband confronted her, her grandmother assumed the blame for telling my step-daughter to do this. Her excuse: "You know how girls are!" -- way to teach the youth of the future!
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how different people from the same family can be sometimes. My older sister is a dissapointment in my own eyes because her life is nothing but an assortment of excuses or lies. The occasional white lie, used in place for one another's feelings seems fine but making a habit out of it is pathetic. I know I'll never have respect for my sibling partly because of how she lives this life. True story..
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on that one Stefany, but with me it's my lil' sis...the saddest part is that they believe their excuses are actually valid...delusional...
ReplyDeleteWell, as long as we are on the subject of sisters I have three and just like Crystal and Stefany said we couldn't be any more different. Between them I've heard some of the most ridiculous excuses ever, whether its about money, weight, guys, or even laundry there is alot I've heard...... Definitely feel yall's pain.
ReplyDeleteI've been racking my brain to find a situation in my life where something like this has happened. However, I keep drawing a blank. That is not to say it hasn't happened before; it's just I can't pin point specifics. So, I'll supply the next best thing; a movie reference. In the movie Adventureland, during a drunken night out with friends, the main character's awkward, nerdy, co-worker/sidekick, hooks-up with a "hot" female co-worker unexpectedly. The next day when he tries to talk to her about it, she uncomfortably tells him that she “messed up.” He then asks how. An obvious brush off, she ends up telling him, “Well, I accidently told my little brother about us. Who then told my parents, and well, we’re Catholic. Like, very strict Catholic. And you’re Jewish. So yeah, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to see each other. My parents wouldn’t like it.” Ah yes, the conflicting religion excuse strikes again!
ReplyDeleteGood posts and comments class! However, I still haven't heard any excuses from a few of you. You've got until Sunday to come up with your excuse....or perhaps Samir's ninjas also broke into your house too :)
ReplyDeleteSo are we to just give an example of an excuse we've heard or are we to make one up like Samir? ...If I didn't respond to this post correctly I'll have to make up some excuse as to why...
ReplyDeleteMy girlfriend didn't finish her online french homework this weekend cause we were partying with friends. She was suppose to do it online so she told her french teacher that her internet was down all weekend and she couldn't access the site to do complete her homework. She told her teacher this with an email.
ReplyDeleteat least she is really hot.
ReplyDeleteI was late to one of my classes because of parking and I didnt go to class.
ReplyDeleteExcuse? Well yes...
Good Excuse? No because I should of woken up earlier
(I dont know I just had one of those "reflection" moments)lol
I think the wost excuse I have ever used was way back when I just got out of high school and told my employer that my grandma had died and I needed the week off. what I was really doing was going hunting with my friends. What happened when I got back was he had herd I went hunting so he asked me to bring in the obituary of my grandma. well lets just say grandma was at home doing just fine and I was in trouble at work but luckily I still had a job.
ReplyDelete