The Truth

I remember my mother saying, "I am old. I can say what I want to". By that, she meant she could speak the truth. It was always said in a pleasant tone and a positive way, but it was still the truth. As I get older I not only see what she meant, but I am living it. Over the weekend there was a nasty confrontation at the town pool that involved people I know. Yesterday the story was being recounted by the woman who started it. The problem was that she was telling a biased story. I never would have interfered but she asked me to back up her version of the incident. I did not agree with her so I told the version that I saw. I spoke the truth. She was saying that the young girls she fought with started the fight. I said she did. She said they were nasty but I said she was the aggressor. I told her that I was telling the truth to help her. If she continues to fight with strangers, she will get hurt. By the end of the conversation she admitted that she and her daughter were the first ones to antagonize the other people. My mother was right. I am old. I can say what I want to.