No I Did Not

A few weeks ago a group of us were going to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  The restaurant is located at the mall, so as the hostess is walking us to our table, she asks if we did any good shopping that day.  Without hesitating I said no, that I had not.  Later, as I thought about it, I was disappointed that I had blown an opportunity to make something up.  The hostess was obviously just doing her job, and making light, meaningless conversation, but since I'm kind of weird, I figure I should take advantage of these opportunities with a entertaining lie or story.  

It also reminded me of another time years ago when my dad and I were rolling through a small mountain town on the way back from four-wheeling.  As we were driving through this parking lot, this tall blond woman stopped us and asked if she had seen me at a bar or club the night before.  I felt like a deer in the headlights as I shot back a quick "no."  As she left, I was quickly reprimanded by my ever entertaining father for not playing along, and at least having fun with it.  Well, years passed, and I realized that I had made no progress with the impromptu lie.  Now that it is back in my thoughts, I'm going to work on some good stories for the unsuspecting person that exchanges in pleasantries.  Think George Costanza pretending to be a marine biologist or an architect.