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Somewhere
in America, next week
As
heard on The Phil Valentine Show
Dad
- Son, come in here, we need to talk.
Son - What's up, Dad?
D- There's a scratch down the side of the car. Did you do
it?
S- I don't believe, if I understand the definition of "scratch
the car", that I can say, truthfully, that I scratched
the car.
D- Well, it wasn't there yesterday, and you drove the car
last night, and no one else has driven it since. How can
you explain the scratch?
S- Well, as I've said before, I have no recollection of
scratching the car.
While it is true that I did take the car out last night,
I did not scratch it.
D- But your sister, Monica, has told me she saw you back
the car against the mailbox at the end of the driveway,
heard a loud scraping
sound, saw you get out to examine the car, and then drive
away. So again I'll ask you, yes or no, did you scratch
the car?
S- Oh, you mean you think you have evidence to prove I scratched
it.Well, you see, I understood you to mean did "I"
scratch the car. I stand by my earlier statement, that I
did not scratch the car.
D- Are you trying to tell me you didn't drive the car into
the mailbox?
S- Well, you see sir, I was trying to drive the car into
the street.I mishandled the steering of the car, and it
resulted in direct contact with the mailbox, though that
was clearly not my intent.
D- So you are then saying that you did hit the mailbox?
S- No sir, that's not my statement. I'll refer you back
to my original statement that I did not scratch the car.
D- But the car did hit the mailbox, and the car did get
scratched as a result of this contact?
S- Well, yes, I suppose you could look at it that way.
D- So you lied to me when you said you did not scratch the
car?
S- No. No, that's not correct. Your question was "Did
I scratch the car?". From a strict legal definition,
as I understood the meaning of that sentence, I did not
scratch the car... the mailbox did... I was merely present
when the scratching occurred. So my answer of "No"
when you asked "Did I scratch the car" was legally
correct, although I did not volunteer information.
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