I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know. ~ Mark Twain

The year was 1965. High school debate.
I had a parade of partners through the year,
lost the first round of district.
The two boys advanced to regional,
darned close to state. We three seniors,
rebuilding a long-dormant school team.
The issue of the year was nuclear disarmament.
One of the guys — the one who became a lawyer,
of course — had a citation, a statistic, instantly
for any argument. Because he created them,
cold cloth, complete with date of issue
of the national publication… Authoritative.
And a lie. I asked him once we’d been lawyers
many years whether he still did that.
“No, it’s too easy for the other side to check.”
I don’t know. Maybe that’s the better answer.
But oh, how fun debate was…