“Somehow I found myself in her bed….”

            While this opener is not a common everyday escape, it deserves first place status.  I was co-leading a men’s therapy group.  One of the members explained how he happened to have been arrested for having sex with a minor. He put his hands out in supplication.  He only wished for us to understand what had happened.

“Somehow…” is an interesting concept.  It would appear he made no conscious decision.  Did he get carried to her bed by a strange force, such as a blue light, perhaps? Then he said, “…I found myself…”  Did he think perhaps that he had been lost or in a coma prior to discovering himself there?

            If attempting to avoid personal responsibility, this “somehow” concept works if you talk fast.

“Somehow I found myself,”  is also useful for explaining a non-coincidental situation that you had really planned far in advance such as in “face to face with Katie.”  “Somehow I happened to be in the same store…”   “Somehow I happened to mention my boss and his secretary…  The next thing you know I was saying about their affair.  I just found myself talking more than I should….”

            I particularly like “somehow I found myself in the refrigerator.” as an explanation how the left over pizza disappeared.  Then, perhaps, you can add that the glare of the refrigerator light brought you out of a trance?