Damn Liars!!!

My narcissistic father lied. Often.

When he didn't want me to take classes at a nearby college, he said a rapist was on the loose attacking young women. (Not true)

He told people he and my mother had paid for my college education. They hadn't. Not a single dime.

He complained he'd given me so much money he didn't have enough for his own retirement. I'd been financially independent since 18.

He used to tell people - right in front of me! - that I was his biological child when I knew darned well I was adopted. Then made up all sorts of bizarre stories to explain why I didn't look like them or why I was an only child.

He told me he was diabetic. He wasn't.

He faked having chest pains and demanded emergency help -- repeatedly -- when I'd take a night off from calling him.

I can't remember if he lied like that when I was a kid, although I think he must have and it was just one of the many reasons I didn't feel comfortable around him. I figured it out when I was a teenager, but never told anybody. Not even my best friend. It was just too weird. And if your own father is that strange, what does it say about you?

When I finally got up the nerve in my thirties to confront him, he gave an awful, evil little laugh, but didn't apologize or explain to my satisfaction. Basically, he said he wanted what he'd wanted, and I was being so stubborn, so he had to do what he had to do.

Catching him out on a whopper did NOT deter him.

I'd like to say, folks, that the lying goes away when the narcissist develops dementia.

But in the case of my father - who has Lewy Body Dementia - it has not.

This continues to astound me.

He's lost control of his inhibition, his legs, his bladder and most of what little judgment he had to begin with, but he's maintained the ability to lie. Old habits do die hard.

Do, please, feel free to share your favorite Damn Liar stories and thoughts on this disturbing behavior.