The Lying Truth and the Truthful Lie

  i know people who do not read fiction because they say it isn't true.
  i say fiction can be truer than fact.
  Facts can be manipulated to the point where they are unrecognizeable.

  What is this?

   More later.

  Untold Tales, by William J. Brooke (Harper Trophy, 1992) is a delightful collection, not just of fiction, but of twisted, retold fairy tales.  

  In the second tale, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty shares how her father moved the family into the forest to escape creditors when his merchant ship was presumed lost.  Eventually, word arrived that the ship had returned, laden with the treasures it had been sent to trade for.

  This was true.  The family rejoiced and imagined what would be purchased with the wealth from the returning cargo. 

  However, this was a lying truth.  The cargo was indeed all the father had hoped for, but the letter neglected to mention that, in the years family and ship had been absent, the creditors had brought lawsuits which far exceeded the value of the merchandise in worth.

  Beauty's father had to flee the city, poorer than before, to avoid being cast into debtor's prison.

  You can find the truth somewhere in the factoids of daily life.  In a world where image builders learn to arrange them to present the desired picture, though, it's hard to find them.  Composite fictional stories, such as presented by Diveboard Dave here can do a much better job than facts and figures in getting the message across.

Oh, and my photo above?  It's not worms.  It's headlights, with camera shake.  Here's the full photo.

Broken Fire Hydrant, 9/30/2010