Did I Just Tell a Lie?

I have often told my grandchildren that I have never told a lie. Then I rationalize it by letting them know that I have told a lot of stories, and some of them are crazy, so if people believe my stories that’s their fault and not me lying. This is a fun legacy to pass onto my posterity. Unfortunately for me, the other day as I was listening to the radio while driving home from work, the radio announcer mentioned something that he did as a child, and I immediately said to myself, “Dang!”


His story reminded me of a time when I lied to a Salt Lake City Police officer. Of course, in the history of lying I am not sure if this lie will send me to hell, especially given the fact that since that day, I haven’t told another one. And after all, I did not lie for my benefit or personal gain, but I did it to protect my younger sister (I shall not reveal her name to protect her image). 


According to my memory, my sister was in junior high school. It’s important to reveal that I was not an active participant in this dastardly deed, but I was a knowing observer. 


On this particular evening, I had listened closely as my sister and her friends planned their devilish scheme to unload on an unsuspecting neighbor.


So, what was this unspeakable plot that was being hatched? Was it something that would bring dishonor to our family? What would our parents say if they knew their daughter  was hatching a plot to prank their neighbors? While I didn’t participate in this activity, I must admit being very interested watching it unfold and come to fruition.


The prank involved our neighbor’s house, front door, porch, window, eggs, and arms that were capable of throwing those eggs. I have probably given enough hints of what’s about to happen that no one will be surprised when I mention that the neighbors are going to receive a gift that they did not want.


It happened on a warm summer evening, the kind of night where people enjoy being out and about, playing night games and visiting. My sister pilfered about a dozen eggs from our refrigerator to throw at the neighbor’s house. Sometime later, the neighbors discovered the broken eggs all over their porch, their windows and house, and they weren’t happy. Shortly after their discovery the man showed up at our front door, angry with invisible smoke coming out of all his facial orifices.


“Do you know who egged our house?” were the first words out of his mouth. All present in our house told him “No!”  We expressed dismay and hoped that they would find whoever did this. 


Soon  there was another knock on our door. A police officer was standing there wanting to interrogate us. He asked each of us if we saw or heard anyone egging the neighbor’s home. After a few minutes of intense questioning the police officer thanked us and went back to report his findings to the neighbors. 


The last thing I remember about this incident was the neighbors scrubbing eggs from their house.


This story is not meant to glorify bad deeds or make people think I believe vandalism or lying is ok, because it is not. I believe we owe it to our children to let them know both the good things we did as well as those things we wished we hadn’t done. It’s important for them to understand that their parents weren’t much different than they are, and that we made mistakes that led us into mischief. We can then help them understand what we have learned from our experiences.


I must mention that our neighbors were wonderful people who would have done anything to help us become kind and appreciative and honorable people. They didn’t deserve what they got that night, and why I went along with it, I’ll never know. As far as I know these good people never learned who egged their house, but the one thing I learned from my participation is that I didn’t want to ever do anything like that again.


As I look back on that night I must ask myself several questions and seriously ponder the answers. The answers to these questions are important, especially if we want to teach our children to have the courage to stand up for what is right.


What should I have done in this situation? Should I have told the truth? What kind of message am I sending to my posterity by not standing up for honesty? At the time, I didn’t want to be labelled a snitch, but was I right to quietly support these actions? What about my personal integrity? Was it compromised? What did I learn from this experience? 


One thing I learned is that life is full of challenges that can impact us not only in the moment, but our future as well. I’m really glad that this lie did not lead to other lies. It left a taste in my mouth that I never wanted to experience again. I haven’t succeeded completely, but I try hard to be honest in my dealings with others. As parents let’s ask ourselves and our kids, “Is there ever a time to lie?”  I hope this leads to some very interesting conversations.