Never Always Don'T

never smoke she said, cigarette dangling from her mouth. ashes falling into my oatmeal I nodded my head, dutifully. always tell the truth, he said, he called in sick to his boss, we went to the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. don't ever gossip, said my grandma. before telling us all the rumors she had ever heard about the neighbors. never generalize people, Uncle Louie said, unless they are Irish, English, or Swedes. You cannot trust any of them.