Theatrical alibis

I’M a fan of a Cagayan de Oro councilor’s posts on his social media page. I find it amusing. Laugh level would range from LOL to LMAO to ROFL ― That’s Laughing Out Loud, Laughing My Ass Off, and Rolling On the Floor for the non-millennials. One of his posts led me to come up with this topic on “the excuses we make every day.” Let’s hide him under the name Jay.

These are all taken from my Library of Alibis, which I have mentally compiled based on observation. As my EIC has said, I’m observant.

Let’s focus on the alibis that employees make when picked up from work or when they pick up their kids.

Let me know of your alibis after reading this, which I know you have a gazillion. It’s for fun and nothing more.

Scenario one. A wife calls her husband to tell him she is ready to leave. The husband replies, “I’m packing up,” or “Going down.” In reality, or as seen from my point of view, the husband is either reading the papers, reading or replying to emails. What’s worse is when the husband makes another call to the head office after ending the call from his wife.

Scenario two. A husband promptly arrives to fetch his spouse. Parks and waits for a few minutes. He notices that employees are coming out except his wife. After 30 minutes, he calls his wife and gets the info that she’s about to go down.

The husband waited for close to an hour, which prompted him to ask his wife’s colleague, “Siya mag close sa tibuok banko?”

Scenario three. You’re to pick up your kid from school. The class has ended, and your kid is now calling to ask where on earth you are. You answered right away, “Traffic is heavy. I’m near your school. Don’t go out yet.” In reality, you’re still at the office and finishing some pending transactions.

These are just a few. Why do we make up excuses or alibis? Simply because we do not want the other person to be offended. We are by nature people-pleasers. Although, I know a few who are not, and I love listening to them.

I remember my brother’s friend, who would often tell them he was on his way when they were dining out. But actually, he was on his way to the bathroom while the rest of the group were all waiting at the restaurant, busy with the menu.

Is this wrong? I don’t think so. Unless it’s deliberately aimed to offend the other person, I see no harm. If it’s only to cover up a minor flaw, it’s alright.

My two cents on this—it would still be best to be upfront with your spouse, kid, or friend. Say you’ll be ready in 15 minutes. Make sure that by then, you are. What I see, though, is that you are about to tap snooze for another 15 minutes.