we know cows and cows know us , he proclaimed , and most of the crowd chuckled , gentle , non-confrontational adult laughs , but a sound nevertheless which was capable of severely wounding me and made me ball up my fists and wish i was the one telling the lies so that i could make up a humdinger , some massive impressive mistruth about our lives , which would convince all those doubters of the wealth and might of what i truthfully knew to be my failed , feeble little family .