Thyself Be True - or at least, Try

There is a country cooking buffet all-you-can eat type of restaurant in Marietta, well, actually several of them, ran by Korean families.   They have learned how to duplicate the down home country southern cuisine. My mother-in-law loves to go to a certain one.  We try to take her about once a week.

Sometimes her grandchildren and nephews give her a gift certificate  for that restaurant because they know that is where she prefers to eat.

When I pay at the register the Korean cashier always try to say something personal.  Last week my mother-in-law had a gift certificate that she relayed over to me to pay at the register.  I didn't look much like a gift certificate , it looked more like a cheap birthday day card with the value amount written on it with some initials.  I wasn't sure they would take it or not.  The cashier took it and said it was purchased from their Cartersville Store.

This week when paying the cashier smiled and asked me did I have another  gift certificate - she was joking.  It was the way she pronounced "certificate" that took me off guard.  I had to refocus and zoom in to know what she was saying.  It was like the "cert" was almost silent, the "tifi" was building up, and the "cate" came out long and plane.  you would have to have been there to fully understand - or not understand.

Then I said, her nephews and grandchildren know she loves their restaurant.  She said, "They live in Cartersville?"

I said, "No, her nephew works in Cartersville."

She nodded that she understood.

About an hour later it occurred to me that I did not tell the truth, but didn't realize it.  My mother-in-law has a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter that live in Cartersville.  

Not that made any difference in the cashier and my business transaction, I felt the urge  to correct myself - she would think I was a complete nut if I stopped by and ran in and told her that actually she has a daughter-in-law and granddaughter that lives in Cartersville.... I could call her  and admit I was wrong and correct myself, but she would think I am even a bigger nutjob.

Things get complicated when you try to live a truthful life and try to correct your accidental non-truths.