On my first trip to Kruger National Park, I learned a lesson in South African courtesy, but I also learned that South Africans won't let the truth stand in the way of a good story. We were staying in cabins at one of the park’s compounds. Kruger is where they lock up the people, and the wild animals roam free. All cars check in at the gates, and all are accounted for in the compounds.  Under no circumstance are visitors to get out of their cars for any reason. Those in a stalled car may be there for hours until the rangers find and rescue them.  That is preferable to becoming an entree in the food chain.

My host family and I had just finished dinner at the compound’s dining hall and were making our way to the gift shop. Along the way, we stopped to chat with people congregated in one of the recreation rooms. It was in the 1980s and at that time there was a fair amount of curiosity about the attitudes of travelers from the United States. President Reagan had issued sanctions against South Africa in his disdain for the apartheid policy then in effect.

Why did the elephant cross the road? Because he wanted to and no one wanted to try and stop him. These elephants were in Botswana near Chobe National Park. This is a public highway.  

In one room a woman was relating a story about elephants blocking the road as she drove to work. If the elephants choose to cross in front of your car, they do so at will.  If the elephant chooses to lounge on the hood of your car, it will. If a couple of young bulls decide to duke it out on the road, the cars may back up for quite a distance. Whatever the reason, the woman was warming to her story about elephants blocking her way to work.  She went on and on about one of the elephant’s behavior and finished her tale by telling how she had raced off from him when he finally decided to move. With a final flourish, she added that she wasn’t even late for work.

I was totally caught up in the story and asked her how far she had been from work.  She told me and added how many minutes it had taken her. That startled me.  I did a little math and said, “Wow, you were driving over 100 mph!” I was impressed. The lady looked thoughtful, and my host and hostess said the necessary pleasantries for leaving.

Outside on the way to the gift shop, my host gently scolded me for asking about the miles the woman traveled. I was still marveling at her adventure and said as much.  That stopped the entire family in their tracks. “Peggy,” said my host, “She was lying, and you embarrassed her!”

“No!” I said, quite surprised. Assuming the truth, I had not meant to cross-examine her.

“Yes,” they all said in unison. "She was just telling a story,” one of them said.

I should have known. My uncle always said that it wasn’t that any of our family ever set out to lie about anything; it was just that we never let the truth get in the way of a good story. I guess that must be some kind of universal law.