Worse yet, I think he went on to abuse his grandaughters. He's dead now, of course. My BIL is a pathologival liar. He's told me he'd scuba-dived the great barrier reef (NEVER BEEN TO AUSTRALIA), and he killed a bunch of mafia guys in Haiti. (RIGHT...IM supposed to believe that?) but everyone says... That's just how Homer is. Jeez. I've listened to these lies since I was 16! C'mon! I can site many of the excuses you are talking about besides my uncle. My own daughter has a habit of not showing up sometimes when she says she's coming to a family event. And we tolerate it. All of us make leeway for a few bad habits, but these habitual offenders drive me nuts! A good and relevant piece here, Grace.