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A Lifetime of Pranks
In my younger days, I was an avid practical joker. It started with prank phone calls when I was 12. Those were the days before cell phones and Caller ID so anonymity was assured. On a rainy day, I dialed a number at random and told the woman who answered that I was from the phone company and we’d be testing the lines for the next twenty minutes. “If you hear the phone ring, DO NOT PICK UP! We’re checking for electrical interference and if you answer you could put the life of the line worker at risk.” Of course I called back and let the line ring until the woman finally answered. I then screamed and hung up the phone.
Many pranks did not allow me to see the final results. When neighbors went on vacation, I broke into their home and rearranged their furniture. I also rearranged the contents of the refrigerator. After the Manson trials, my friend and I snuck into a neighbor’s backyard with a boombox and blasted “Helter Skelter” at maximum volume.
In high school, my pranks became more elaborate. I had a friend whose father was a doctor. He obtained some methylene blue, a prescription medication used to treat urinary tract infections. The medication was harmless but a side effect was that it turned urine blue. I targeted my basketball buddy Brian telling him about a new disease that caused a man’s penis to fall off. The first symptom was blue urine. Over the next few weeks, I…
