A long time ago, there was a young, enthusiastic lady who had just landed her dream job — reporting traffic conditions in a large urban centre.
She had been the pilot for another reporter for a few years and, then, the company asked if she would do the reporting. It was a thrill and a significant advancement in her career.
The day she was to start the new job, everyone in her small home town was glued to the radio to hear her first report.
Even if they weren’t travelling anywhere, they were excited to hear how she did as a reporter.
But, there was no traffic reporter to guide the rush hour that day because the new reported had, unbelievably, overslept her wake-up alarm!
In an absolute panic, she quickly called the radio station as soon as she got up and reported she, herself, had been in a car accident on the way to work — it was the only thing she could think of to say that could possibly explain her absence on her first day.
She told the boss she was slightly injured and could not get into work. The irony became a top story that day!
But, it was an unfortunate choice of “story” for her because, of course, she was working for a radio station with a nose for news so her situation soon hit the air and became an item.
Her relatives heard she had been hurt in an accident and quickly called her parents.
They, in turn, started calling around to find her — at home, at the hospital, anywhere they could think of.
It was a crazy and frightening time and, when they finally did find her (she had been sort of hiding away from the spotlight, trying to figure out how to get out of the huge pickle she found herself in), she felt she had to continue the ruse.
She wrapped one arm in a tensor bandage and developed a significant limp to support her “injuries.”
And, the best part was that she had to keep up the charade all week at work, hobbling around and wincing every time she moved her arm!
Of course, she also had to remember which arm to wrap and which leg was hurt each day to make it all believable.
There were lots of questions because the police had not been notified and there were no accident reports on the morning in question.
She managed to get through the next few weeks with some weak explanations and lots of subject-changing.
They say one should be careful about lying but added to that, if a lie is the only way out of a difficult situation, choose a lie that doesn’t have such public involvement!
Colleen Crossley is a freelance columnist with the Tribune/Weekend Advisor.
