The Four Way Test

...of things we Think, Say, or Do....

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

The maxims of Rotary International: keeping me on the straight and narrow. Good words for us all to bear in mind.

Note: My dad, the single most upstanding and honest man I know, reads this blog from time to time. He astutely pointed out some things I might want to change for the general public (reputation and all), and I have dutifully done. He was probably in the right. Sadly at least two of the things I changed were lies in the first place. White lies. The line between fiction and reality is so blurry on the other side of the world, and I never intended to be a reporter, just a writer.

Some timeless thoughts on the subject:

"I hate things all fiction... there should always be some foundation of fact for the most airy fabric -- and pure invention is but the talent of a liar."
-Lord Byron (1788-1824)

"It's with bad sentiments that one makes good novels."
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

"Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Mr. Twain, brilliant as usual. And, Daddy, I love you very much. Thanks for looking out for me.