Russ Freeman

Life and Times of a Ragamuffin: Growing Up Wild Russ Freeman

Storytelling to Pass the Time During Long Winter Months

That truck did not have power enough to haul the elephant up the steep stretch of road, so the driver had been forced to stop. He and a helper lowered a ramp to unload the elephant. The helper then had the elephant push the truck to help it up the steep section. A short ways up the road, beyond the steep section, they loaded the elephant up and went on their way. As Geneva told the story the first time, she emphasized that there was not much room on the road and she was afraid that the elephant was going to bump into her car as it was getting off the truck. On her behalf a few days later, Dad retold the story, as was the custom. In his version, "She was afraid that the elephant was going to push her car off the road." After many retellings, elephants began to appear out of nowhere and push her car hither and yon. Since she was known to join her husband in imbibing from time to time, the story was gradually changed to imply that the entire episode must have been an apparition seen while she was under the influence. Often the later storyteller kindly suggested that perhaps she should lay off the bottle for a while.