It is often said that the sins of one’s past will come back and revisit themselves. I think there is some truth in that as my son Noah (I am told by close relatives and my wife) is just like me. I don’t know that it has helped that my mother for years has been praying the following prayer: “Lord, just allow John to have a son just like him.”
This weekend, the sins of my past paid a visit but in a different way. Many years ago, I was a lifeguard/Recreation Director at Camp Wesley Pines in the Mississippi Conference. During this time, I took pride in being a practical joker and loved pulling pranks on anyone from my comrades in the Lifeguard house to the counselors and even to the Executive Director of CWP. The most pride that I had was in the fact that I was never pranked (with the exception of two Jedi Masters Cary Stockett and Geoffrey Joiner and I don’t like to talk about that.)
When I arrived at Behold on Saturday, I was met with my entire family talking about their beds being short-sheeted the night before. My Father-in-Law, Mother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law and my WIFE!! had all been caught up in a short-sheeting spree. Well, come to find out, one of the Sumatanga directors had been attending a camp meeting and met two of the lifeguards (The right Reverend Kevin Trantham and Garland Brent) that I worked with 20 years ago. They began talking to him regarding the pranks I used to play and a plan was hatched. MJ would short-sheet my bed at Behold.
MJ went to work but did not know which bed I would be sleeping, so, he short-sheeted all the beds in the house. Thus drawing very innocent people into this web of immaturity. What was even more tragic is that I didn’t go to camp on Friday but arrived Saturday. I wasn’t even there!!
So, after 20 years, I still remain untouchable. I do feel bad that my family got caught up in this but as I told my father in law: “I bet you never expected the sins of my past to revisit you when you married me and Jill, did you?” I do offer kudo’s to Kevin and Garland for the work, imagination and the effort of enlisting hit men to do your dirty work and trying to get me while you sleep safely in your beds 200 miles away.
I am officially retired from pranking but this may just be the event that brings me out of retirement! I might just retrieve my jersey from the Hall of Fame and jog back onto that field one more time…(to be continued)
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