Friday, May 16, 2014

Am I Missing Something?

Thought for the day:  Everything is funny as long as it's happening to somebody else. [Will Rogers]

Now, let me be the first to say I don't have anything against class clowns. (I mean, heck... I married one!) But the pranks we used to pull in school back in the Dark Ages were... funny. By definition, a prank is a practical joke or mischievous act, and in my opinion, that should translate to something that's creative, humorous, harmless, and legal.

I dunno. Maybe I'm just an old fuddy duddy. But I don't think so; I don't think it's just because I'm growing older.

Heck, I don't even remember much in the way of senior pranks when Smarticus and I graduated from good ol' Dundalk High School. (Which has since been demolished...) Certainly nothing organized on a large-scale, anyhow. Closest thing to that was in junior high, when all the boys in our class would roll up their neckties and unfurl them simultaneously. (Yeah, we were bad asses back then.) Or the whole class would drop and then bend to retrieve a pencil at the same time. It was silly, and mildly amusing, and we only did that sort of thing with teachers who had a sense of humor.

                                                           Remember this song?



I came across that picture of plastic flamingos on morguefile.com, and it reminded me of a prank the youth group at our church used to pull when our boys were teenagers. They'd cover some poor parishioner's lawn with about forty flamingos for a week at a time... and all it took was a small donation to get the gaudy boogers hauled off PDQ. Okay, so technically, you could call that a form of extortion, but it was all in good fun (and fund), and if anyone wanted to opt out of getting bird-bombed, they could do so. (As best as I remember, no one did.)

I'm not sure when it started, but evidently big-time  senior class pranks are standard procedure nowadays. So much so, I even found some websites offering suggestions on pranks students could pull. Stuff like:

  • Creating a slip-and-slide in the hallway with a sheet of plastic, a bucket of water and lotion. (Oooh, slick!)
  • Lining the walls with post-it notes from floor to ceiling. 
  • Blocking stairways with plastic cups turned upside down. (Gotta admit... I like that one!)
  • Letting ten crickets loose in the hallways. (HA! Another good un.)
  • Turning the cafeteria into a beach scene with tiki torches, beach balls, inflatable palm trees, and a plastic pool filled with sand. 
  • Having every senior hide an alarm clock somewhere around the school, set to go off at a random time. (Alarming!)
  • Putting petroleum jelly on all doorknobs and handrails. (Another slick one!)


Some websites even offer helpful hints as to senior pranks that can be pulled outdoors. My personal favorite involved placing a huge for sale sign out on the school's front lawn. And these others aren't  too bad, either:


  • Writing the graduation year on the front lawn... with cocktail umbrellas, toothpicks, or plastic forks. OR with rock salt, which would kill the grass in the desired pattern. (Which might be frowned upon by the establishment.)
  • Painting the year on a rock or hillside with non-toxic paint.
  • Hanging bras or jock straps from a tree. (HA!)
  • Filling the school fountain with bubble bath, rubber ducks, or food coloring. (School fountain? Must be for wealthy schools.)
  • Having a root beer keg party. 
  • Having a slumber party on the front lawn.
  • Putting something on the flag pole, like tires. (I think it'd be funnier to fly a HUGE pair of panties...)



There was a wee little article in the newspaper recently. In fact, so small, it's a wonder I noticed it at all, but that article is what prompted this blog post. It was about what the paper called a senior class prank, which occurred in New Jersey.

Sixty-two students broke into their high school shortly after 2 AM and proceeded to wreak havoc. (My words, not the paper's.) They did some of the standard balloons and silly string throughout the school, and petroleum jelly on the doorknobs, and they even got a little more creative by taping hot dogs to the lockers. In addition, they overturned and broke furniture, spray-painted grafitti on the walls, and urinated in the hallways. Police responded to the burglar alarm, and all sixty-two students were arrested.


I dunno. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I am an old fuddy-duddy... but how does that behavior qualify as a senior prank? To me, that behavior qualifies as vandalism. Personally, they lost my sympathy with the whole broke into part.

But if you wanta read about pranks... about, in fact, some of the best pranks of all time, check out this old post from April 1. 2011. Now those were some pranks!

So, what do you guys think? Did your senior class pull any pranks? Do tell...

Oh, by the way, an update on an earlier post. Remember the story about affluenza I posted in January? Essentially, it was about a drunk-driving teenager from a privileged background who got away with a virtual slap on the wrist and a stay at a ritzy rehab center for killing four people, and injuring numerous others while driving under the influence. The update? The family of the teenager who was paralyzed for life by that accident sued, as I told you they were planning to do... and they were recently awarded two million dollars. Unfortunately, their son is still paralyzed.

Oh yeah... if you're interested, you'd better hurry: the e-version of Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade is on sale on Amazon for the paltry sum of ninety-nine cents right now... but only for a couple days.

                                          Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

[Thanks to Wikipedia, morguefile.com and icanhascheezburger.com for the use of their images.]

46 comments:

  1. Nah, you lost me at broke in too. There's not a thing funny about it and everything they did was crossing the line.

    I just bought your book. :)

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Good! I'm glad it isn't just me...

      Super! I hope you enjoy it. Happy weekend to you, too!

      Delete
  2. Luckily, high school teens here don't do pranks... but they do love to bathe in public fountains at the day of their graduation.... it's stupid, but at least it's hot to watch them all shirtless.....

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    1. Well, at least bathing in the public fountain is good clean fun. (groan)

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  3. In a roundabout way, I blame it on the prosperity during the 80s and 90s. Baby boomers worked hard and rewarded themselves with any toys they wanted. Then they started awarding their kids the same thing, who are now spoiled, inconsiderate, entitled, and use the freedom of anonymity on twitter and forums to bully and try to shock people like 6-yr-olds who just learned their first swear word. I'm not sure I like the unaccountability the net allows.

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    1. I don't like unaccountability in any form. Claiming exclusionary privilege like an out-of-control diplomat breaking the law, and making excuses instead of amends just doesn't cut it.

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  4. My high school has since been torn down too. We haven't had break-ins at the local school, however, in the last year or two, we had a nasty break-ins at a local house when folks were away, with similar results as the New Jersey school. Awful.

    The flamingos are a prank (and a fund raiser). The pencil dropping? Okay. The alarms...kind of funny. I even like the post-it notes. But damage? Breakins and damage? Unacceptable! How could a kid be raised to think this is appropriate behavior? (Oh, just read Lexa's comment. To some degree, I agree. Where is the respect???)

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    1. I don't think kids are... at least I HOPE kids aren't raised to believe this kind of destructive behavior is acceptable. Could be that some kids are allowing peer pressure and a mob mentality to sweep them away into adopting an "anything goes" kinda attitude. Youth can be a time for being fearlessly foolish, and in a crowd, I suspect that foolishness may have a way of snowballing out of hand. I sure hope they outgrow it.

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  5. My brother and his friends broke into a high school as a senior prank, the intention being to install porta-potties in the senior lobby. One of them ended up with a pretty serious injury from broken glass and they were all busted. My poor big bro spent the night in jail. (Cured me of shenanigans.) I don't like pranks, myself—in the news locally, some kids just gorilla-glued shut all the locks at their high school. Huge inconvenience, expensive, not funny. But I don't think vandalism-flavored senior pranks are new or a sign that kids these days are jerkier than they used to be. My brother's prank was pulled in 1984. There's some solid social science that shows that kids these days are, by and large, actually better citizens than we were, and even better people than we are now as adults. They're kinder, they're more community oriented, they care more about the planet, and they're certainly less racist and homophobic overall. So that's something to feel good about, although the anecdotes of the bad 'uns can still be upsetting.

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    1. I reckon a night in the pokey is enough to cure a person of pulling shenanigans for a long long time. (Or at least cure his younger sister...) Well, depends on what you mean by "new." 1984 is pretty darned "new" to me. I don't remember any vandalism kinda pranks taking place in the '50s and '60s. Then again, it could be a matter of selective memory.

      Without a doubt, I believe today's youngsters are more accepting of social differences than society in general, and I know quite a few who are all the other things you mention, too. But the good ones rarely rate a mention in the local newspapers. But you're right; there's lots to feel good about. I don't think we're heading to hell in a handbasket yet.

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  6. our usual prank was toilet-papering a kid's (their parents) home. it was pretty harmless - just a mess to clean up.

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    1. I forgot about that one. TP-ing used to be fairly common. It was probably a pain in the patootie to clean up, but no real harm.

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  7. Susan, I must me an old fuddy duddy too and that is fine with me... I look young enough, lol.. I am with you, those 62 seniors lost it with break in with me too... We didn't do a lot of pranks where I went to school and what we did do was tame compared to what they did. I don't agree that destroying property is fun... that just leaves tax payers putting out more money.

    I wanted to thank you for you comment... I always like hearing what you have to say :)

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    1. Fuddy duddies rule! Well, destroying property COULD be fun. I remember going to a fair in Maryland years ago, and for a fee, a person could smash a car with a sledge hammer. Lots of people forked over the money for the "pleasure." (Our sons did it...)

      Happy weekend, kiddo.

      Delete
  8. I heard about that 'senior prank' on the news radio. And they had a comment by one of the MOTHERS. (Her tone and expression - all of it printable - merit the upper-case letters). My mother could not have done it better.

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    1. I'm glad to hear it. I hope the parents of all those kids held them accountable.

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  9. I agree with you, Susan. That is vandalism!

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  10. Hi Susan - sadly pranks are so often 'out of order' before they start - just wish people would think .. we did some silly things at school - but nothing illegal or serious ...

    Well I'm glad they got some compensation - but that certainly doesn't recompense for the injuries their son endures, nor for their own heartache ... the other kid will I expect and hope feel remorse for the rest of his life - sincerely hope so .. and hope he has to work with similar people - to put something back into society ..

    Sad story, but thanks for updating us .. but there are too many of them - Hilary

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    1. Exactly! We knew how to be silly (Still do!) without breaking any laws.

      Yeah, me, too.

      Cheers!

      Delete
  11. I didn't make it to senior class, so can't really comment on what they may have got up to. But I don't think there was anything as bad as what happened here.
    Pranks usually happened for April Fool's Day and were as mild as emptying the drawers in the teacher's desk and putting them back in upside down, or perhaps gluing the items inside to the bottom of the drawer. Smearing the blackboard with vaseline was another one and replacing the chalk with crayon, although that last one was usually spotted immediately, crayon being much shinier and smoother than chalk.
    I hope the perpetrators of that vandalism got the punishing they deserved.

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    1. HA! Vaseline on the blackboard? That's a new one on me.

      Yeah, I hope they were suitably punished, too.

      Delete
  12. I was a proper prankster once. Last time I did one the bloke chased after me through the uni campus. Last time I was a prankster in my life. He never caught me (I was too quick for him) but that taught me a lesson. Uni might not be the appropriate for the kind of tricks I used to pull.

    Loved your post. Thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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    1. HA! You'd better not let your teenager know you were a prankster.

      Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.

      Greetings back atcha.

      Delete
  13. What they did was wrong , they've crossed the line :)

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    1. Yeah, I think so, too. Hopefully, they're more aware of that line now.

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  14. Definitely not a funny prank. It's vandalism. There's a line to cross and they crossed it. A good prank is supposed to be good-natured and harmless. I actually like the cricket idea lol. Sounds hilarious. I always like going for a fake spider as well when trying to prank an individual person haha. Have a great weekend Susan :)

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    1. I know! As annoying as one hidden cricket can be, I can only imagine how maddening TEN of 'em would be. Yeah, a fake spider would do the trick with me, if it were a really BIG one.

      You have a great weekend, too.

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  15. There's a difference between a mischievous/playful act and property damage. I find it hard to believe at age the kids didn't know better. Funny thing, I have no idea if my senior class pulled pranks. I was very uninvolved in high school, and didn't even bother to attend graduation. I bet they did though.

    VR Barkowski

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    1. Yeah, you're right. A big difference. And they were certainly old enough to know better.

      Wow, I dunno why, but I'm surprised you weren't like the president of the honor society or something.

      Delete
  16. I believe the pranks of yesteryear were more harmless and innocent. The things I see nowadays as a teacher are sick and pathetic. Numerous students are not just playful, but vindictive.

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    1. As a teacher, you have a much clearer picture of the subject than most of us, so I'm sorry to hear your more in-the-know opinion about how behavior has gone from playful to vindictive. Let's hope the pendulum swings back the other way, and soon.

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  17. I agree. Breaking into something does not qualify as a prank.

    I'd better not let my son read this list. Like his dad, he likes to pull pranks. This would give him some ideas!

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    1. HA! With your son's imagination, I don't think he needs any help to come up with new ideas.

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  18. I agree - that wasn't funny - and it was costly for the school to clean up - I guess I am a fuddy duddy too.

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  19. Your clover photo is beautiful! Such stunning flowers! I'm with you, pranks should be funny, not destructive. Every generation seems to push the envelope of what is funny. I guess I'm an old fuddy-duddy too, because I don't think pranks should hurt people or property.

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    1. Thanks! I really like that pic of the azaleas, too, but I reckon it's about time to switch it. The blooms in our yard are already long-gone.

      Ah-HA... another fuddy-duddy. Hmmm, I'm beginning to think there are a lot of us around.

      Delete
  20. A conscientious and instructive post. Most of those suggested pranks would cause no appreciable damage and do reflect a more respectful time, like when we were in high school. Er, wait a minute, I notice 2 interesting omissions: Your graduation date and the date Dundalk High School was demolished.

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    1. HA! Omissions, huh? You DO realize that's tantamount to asking a woman the dreaded non-PC question, "How OLD are you?"

      I don't care. I am one year older than YOU, and so I probably graduated a year before you did. (So watch it when you call yourself older than dirt, dude!)

      Delete
    2. My apologies, Susan. I was trying to determine which senior class demolished the school, but am content to live with the enigma.

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    3. No need to apologize. The school was actually demolished last year, so my class bears no blame for its demise.

      Delete
  21. I just read your April Fools story, and my favorite pranks included the left-handed whopper, and the 1992 Nixon campaign! I agree that the recent senior prank was anything but funny. I'm glad that the family received a decent settlement, but realistically it won't go very far in their son's ongoing treatment. My heart goes out to the victim, and his family.

    P.S. Sorry I didn't see this sooner, Susan. For some reason it didn't show up on my blogroll.

    Julie

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    1. Those April Fools pranks were classic, weren't they?

      No problem. For whatever reason, your comment didn't show up in my email, either. I guess tempermental Blogger is gonna do what it wants to do.

      Delete
  22. I can neither confirm nor deny any senior pranks. The gag order is still in effect.

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