We’ve all committed sins, done many things for which we are not proud, some for which we still feel guilt and others we do not. We walk around with secrets that we try to bury within ourselves, act like they never really happened. No one really suspects we’ve done these wrongs to ourselves and others, but we know, don’t we.
Category Archives: Pranks
Lunchtime at Deuscher’s – Dixie Hamburgers, Belly Bombers or Dead Goats?
I left Taco Bell right before the Christmas holiday in 1978. How that all transpired is a very interesting story in of itself and one I plan to write one day. In just two weeks I stumbled upon a job at the Deuscher Foundry. I stopped into Job Service in downtown Hamilton on the West side of the river and the lady I spoke with said something had just come in and it might be right up my alley. Two interviews later and I was the new assistant production clerk, getting the office experience I wanted. I’ve shared a number of fun stories about Deuscher’s like this one and this one, or even this one. Lunchtime was special there too and so it deserves a little attention. Continue reading
Laughter, Medicine for Life – Gags at P&G
Life is short. We all need to laugh.
Written about in several stories, (like one of my favorites here), I like making people laugh and I’m not above pulling a few pranks on people I like to get those laughs. I would never prank someone that I do not like, that’s just mean and I’m not really into taking advantage of others.
A good laugh at the workplace brings people together. I’ve always felt that and have experienced it many times over the years. The Sanka gag (link) from my foundry days is one of my favorites. Joe didn’t care for it at first, but later admitted that the joke was funny and in the aftermath, he, Rob and myself had an even better relationship. In my experience, when people like, (or at least don’t hate), their workplace and the people there, they are more free to be themselves and therefore they are more productive.
So far I’ve shared stories about pranks at home, at Taco Bell (the famous burn ’em sauce) but none yet from my P&G days. As I am now celebrating my first full year of being unemployed by good old Mother Procter, I’m thinking that today is the day for writing about some of those good times. Continue reading
I Once Walked in Oscar Robertson’s Shoes
Giving to the United Way – a Day of Calculated Caring
In several stories, I’ve written about childhood antics and pranks. Pulling pranks and getting into trouble over harmless antics was a common theme when I was a kid. Maybe it’s because we didn’t have the internet or even much TV to watch?
I still remember all the TV channels we could pick up in Hamilton, Ohio. Counting all of the channels on The VHF and the UHF frequencies, (and right now the younger readers are going ‘huh? VHF, UHF?’), we could receive 6 stations. Hamilton, Ohio is located somewhat midway between Dayton and Cincinnati so we could pick up all of the channels from both cities. Oh, and of our 6 channels, 2 of them were duplicate networks (ABC and CBS). We kids were thrilled when WXIX was introduced to us because it meant we could watch great entertainment like The Cool Ghoul! I confess though that although we didn’t have much TV, I did rush home from school each day so that I could watch Dark Shadows. Continue reading
More Foundry Days – Practical Joking at the Foundry in Hamilton, Ohio
Mentioned in my first Foundry Days story (read me) as our sales were declining during the 80’s and we were finding ourselves with lots of free time, we all were finding ways to tease each other and entertain ourselves. The manufacturing areas of the foundry were hot, dirty, dangerous and required very strong backs. No practical jokes ever got played around the iron or the dangerous grinders – people could get killed. Away from the iron was a different story. We only had two females. They both worked in the office. In fact, I can only remember one female ever applying to work in the shop. It was a bunch of guys working together and with no females there to keep us in line, the old adage ‘boys will be boys’ often played out. Continue reading
Where the Hell did my Car Go? – More High School Pranks
In stories like egg wars and What’s that Smell (read me), I’ve written about practical jokes and harmless pranking. Hopefully your high school weekend and summer evenings in high school contained as much jocularity, frivolity (and carnal pleasures?) as mine did. In high school, we can’t wait to be older and when we get old, we miss our younger years like crazy. Continue reading
Foundry Days, Walk Stealthily and Carry a Big Stick
Bedtime on Prytania – Boys will be Boys
Growing up in a household of eleven people is a real challenge during certain parts of the day. Mealtime was always interesting, but you already know that if you read the first epic adventure about our family (read me). Our sleeping arrangements were interesting as well as the house we lived in had originally been built as only a two bedroom, two story. Maybe it could be considered a three bedroom as there was also a tiny third bedroom upstairs at the rear and it could sleep one comfortably – we stretched it into sleeping two small ones of course. In fact, when we first moved into that house, that small bedroom was my room. It appears that it had once been used to sleep a visitor or extended family member too because it had a kitchen sink and cabinets built into it (leading to its smaller size originally).
As a family of eleven, the aforementioned tiny bedroom belonged to the two youngest girls, Lori and Janelle. The middle bedroom was the largest sized and slept the remaining three girls, Bobbi, JoAnn and Toni. That left us four boys for the forward bedroom facing the street. Given we had 9 kids, an uneven number, this is the only arrangement that would work – the sex with 5 had to use the tiny bedroom and couldn’t be split up by the middle bedroom. We boys each had our own single bed. There was a set of bunk beds for Mike and Felix. Steve and I shared a set of trundle-beds. Continue reading
The Great Sanka Switch – Think You Can Tell the Difference?
I just love coffee. Truth be told, my coffee drinking represents my major source of my water intake. Another truth be told, I guess I’m not a “real” coffee drinker because I don’t like it black – I love my flavored creamers. I’ve drunk lots and lots of different coffee types and brands ranging from the major store brands to the Hawaiian and Costa Rican coffees to the Saudi coffee which is more like a tea/coffee combo (thank you Linda). My wife and I agree though on our favorite coffee; Doka Estates in Costa Rica, their peaberry roast. Can I tell the difference between the various roasts and brands? I just know what I like. Can I tell decaffeinated from ‘the real thing’? Not if it’s a great tasting decaf blend like Cafe Britt’s of Costa Rica.
I once worked with a couple of young guys though who claimed they could tell the difference between regular and decaffeinated coffee. Really? Let’s see…. Continue reading