"Great is the truth and mighty above all things," is a quote from Biblical times that continues to offer great wisdom today. From yet another corroborating source comes the following:

"The Adventures of Pinocchio" was penned by an Italian author, Carlo Collodi, in 1881. Many of us are familiar with that story thanks to the animated version later produced by Walt Disney. It was the story of a puppet, a stringed marionette, who dreamed of becoming a real boy. His greatest impediment to authenticity, however, was his constant lying.

Pinocchio learns along the way that lies can take two forms; there are those lies with short legs and those with long noses. Short-legged lies can be carried only a short distance as they can never outrun the truth. Long-nosed lies are immediately evident to all and make the liar look absolutely ridiculous.

It might be interesting to note that Collodi believed greater harm ultimately befell the liar, even more so than those victimized, as the liar would cease to exist to those around him.

What greater self-inflicted wound could an individual suffer than to allow themselves to disappear in such a manner? So sad. So very, very sad.

James Littlefield

East Lyme