DEAR MISS MANNERS: I graduated with my Ph.D. two years ago. My friends have been asking me nonstop to come for a visit. However, every time I visit, they just want to go bar-hopping, something I am not a fan of.
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Now they are saying if I come visit, they will do something I want, as long as there is a low risk of getting sick, injured or killed. They said no to roller coasters and skydiving.
I have found an option to go cage-diving with great white sharks, no scuba certification required. Would I be in the wrong just to tell them we are going whale-watching, and then once the shore is out of sight, telling them we are actually going diving with sharks?
GENTLE READER: Are you really asking Miss Manners if it is OK to trick your friends into doing something dangerous? What is wrong with just going out for coffee?
She further wonders how your Ph.D. is relevant. But even if it is in "Fear Immersion Therapy," subjecting your friends to things they do not want to do seems cruel and superfluous. Surely catching up on your adventures over the past few years should be thrilling enough.