I was watching
America's Funniest Home Videos tonight and they did a segment where people were scaring the bejeebers out of unsuspecting folks and loving every minute of it! Made me think back on all of the times I found myself in that situation, both as "scarer" and "scaree"...
When I was in high school, at the end of my last class, occasionally I had to drive to my parents' store and give a dinner break to whomever was working.
One day, my favorite employee, to whom I also referred as my "Other Mother" happened to be working. I just "happened" to have a 11-12" partially dissected night crawler in my purse - just managed to sneak it out of biology class that day. I was going to use it as a secret weapon against my much younger, wimpy little brother but, what the heck, Carpe Diem, right?
So I artistically arranged it in the dollar bill drawer in the cash register and hung around for a while for her to make a sale. Sadist that I was, I couldn't wait to see the look on her face.
Well, I got a reaction all right! The poor woman nearly passed out. She, of course, mistook it for a small snake and was horribly frightened. Her face blanched and she started shaking like a leaf and had to sit down. Guilt overwhelmed me and it was no longer funny. It was a good lesson for me not to mess with the elderly! Stick to little brothers with strong tickers.
The first fright I remember was seeing Walt Disney's Snow White, where the horrible witch was going to roll the stone down on SW and her buddies. My cousin and I were scared out of our wits and my mother almost had to haul us out of the theater. (For all of you young "kids" who may be snickering at this point, remember, we weren't as sophisticated as you guys are today! That was some scary stuff back then!)
Then I remember my grandmother scaring the holy bat crap out of me when I was about 12 when staying overnight with her and my grandfather. The air raid sirens went off accidently (but we didn't know it then) and she was convinced the Russians had landed and taken over the U.S. This was during the cold war and she had me convinced!
This theme was carried out by my former husband during a youth rally at our church in the mid '70's. Unbeknown to me, the youth leaders had arranged to pull a prank on the kids (trying to make them aware of being ready for the unknown). While a guest speaker was at the microphone, one of the youth ministers came sprinting up the aisle, spoke to him urgently and the speaker, after clearing his throat, told us, in a shaking voice, that a nuclear weapon had been discharged over New York by the Russians (those pesky people!). Since my sweet grandmother had help embed this fear in me, my blood ran cold. After all, I'd watched "On the Beach!"
All I could think of was "Where in the heck are my kids?" One was sitting a little bit in front of me; I knew one was with his dad but I wasn't certain where my youngest was. The speaker was informing us that we were asked to leave orderly and head towards the buses and we would be driven to shelters.
Where was my husband? Where was my daughter??? I grabbed my eldest by the arm and ran out to the parking lot. My husband was standing around, smoking a cigarette, acting totally nonchalant. I asked him if he'd heard the news and he replied, "Oh, don't be silly. They're just doing a number on the kids. All the adults know about it!" Yeah - RIGHT.
Thanks for telling me, buster! I had been so scared, I remember feeling like I wanted to throw up. I also remember not speaking to him for days...
So, tricks have not been good for my psyche! I'm all for treats. Popcorn balls anyone?
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