Practical Joking 101 - Cowboys and Perfume

What do perfume and cowboys have in common?  Let me tell you.  Quite a bit, in Gary’s world. 

Click HERE for info on MSU rodeos. 

It all started with a Rodeo.  We were on our way to the College National Finals Rodeo in Bozeman, Montana with my parents in the early 80’s.  On the way to the arena, Gary and I were having a “tiff” over something silly.  Anyway, when we arrived in an effort to have the last word, I grabbed my little perfume spray from my purse and sprayed him!    He looked at me and said “LAURIE!  NOW I HAVE TO GO TO A RODEO SMELLING LIKE A GIRL!!!!”  We both started laughing and the argument was over but Gary felt conspicuous all night. 

Well, Gary was never one to be outdone with the practical jokes, so ever since then, he was on the look-out for how to get back at me.  This expanded into months, and years.  The area most advantageous to him for this endeavor were the fragrance counters at department stores.  EVERY time we went to the mall, I needed to be on guard that I not get to close to Gary and the men’s cologne testers.   Even our girls learned that they could end up wearing men's cologne if they weren’t careful.  They enjoyed trying to get him close enough to the PERFUME testers too get back at him too. 

YIKES!

Ok, now, let me tell you what he did to me just a couple of weeks ago.  At least I'm pretty sure it was him!  I was on a little get-away with Sarah, for a couple days in Santa Barbara.  One evening, I pulled out my toiletries bag, and sprayed some perfume on myself. However, it smelled like men’s cologne, and we debated if it was perfume or cologne.  After Googling it, we found that "Allure" by Channel is indeed....MEN'S COLOGNE!!!!  I have a feeling that years ago, Gary put that in MY toiletries bag, (not HIS), trying to trick me!  Well, IT WORKED!  And best of all, gave Sarah and I a good laugh as we remembered the fun times with Gary.  How we love him.

He would be glad to know his pranks continue, even though bed-bound.  AMAZING!

Practical Joking 101 - A Good Laugh

Last Friday some friends and I were laughing over some of Gary’s antics.  A good laugh is good for me right now, in the midst of some ‘darker’ days.  Since a “cheerful heart doeth good like a medicine” here’s 10 more… 

As we were all posing pretending to be "interested in something" off to the left, Gary looked the opposite way, just as the photo was snapped to point out the "fake" pose of everyone else.  It's not that great of a picture, but I've chuckled every time I see it.   (Zion National Park, 1977)

1. Carefully place one of your dirty socks on your wife’s pillow once she’s asleep so it can be there all night.

2. Tie a smoke detector in the engine area of your friends’ car so when up to freeway speed, the rushing air, sets it off, but stopped when they pulled over to figure out what the sound was coming from. 

3. Place a brown, sheepskin on your back and while growling, crawl quickly into the kitchen where your mother is cooking dinner.

4. When packing your daughter’s sack lunch, make their P.B.& J. on a hot dog bun to embarrass her.

5. Put a “Bed Wetting Solutions” brochure on your friend’s car windshield in the church parking lot.

6. While your wife is standing in the front yard, wait till someone is walking down the street, and shout “HELLO THERE” in a woman’s voice and then quickly duck behind the hedge so your wife looks like an idiot. 

7. During your friends’ wedding reception, take a beanbag chair, and empty it in the “get-away” car, a VW. 

8. Leave the following message on your friend’s phone machine: “This is the clinic calling, and your report was positive.  Please make an appointment to come in as soon as possible.”

9. Bring a bag of black, plastic ants to weddings and nonchalantly place a few on the cake table.

10. Put a rubber band around the kitchen sink spray nozzle to depress the button, so when anyone turns on the water they will get a shower. 

There’s plenty more AND a bunch of “Retribution Pranks” played on Gary too, for another time.  If you remember one, maybe you’d like to share it, if you’re not too embarrassed, that is. 

Practical Joking 101 - "EEEEEEEK!"

​When Gary was a young man, I'm guessing about 13ish, he and a friend went to a matinee at the Montrose Theater.  This was a neighborhood landmark for years until it burned and was removed in the 80's.  Many of our friends remember seeing their first movie there.  And that's when the price of admission included 2 features films, a cartoon AND newsreel.  Anyway, I digress...

​​The theater was about a 3 mile walk from home, and there was a pet store on the way.  If you are wondering if they enjoyed the film that day, I have no idea. They DID have fun, but it wasn't because of what was playing.   At the pet store they stocked up on white mice.  Once outside the shop, the mice were loaded into their shirts for easy entrance to the theater.  The cuffs and collars had to be buttoned.  This caused a great deal of squirming and keeping of straight faces, as they bought their tickets and then handed them to the usher.  Once through the lobby, and seated, they waited for the coming attractions to begin, and at that time, when the lights went out, the little 4-legged stowaways were released to run free through the audience.  Of course, the occasional screeches didn't necessarily fit the storyline of the picture, but the boys had a great comedy of their own. 

Practical Joking 101 - "Entry Level"

Gary's friend, Isaac visited us this week, and we had a great time remembering fun times.  He brought up one of Gary's jokes that I had forgotten.  It's an easy one, that anyone can do and it only costs 25 cents.

This is the front door of our old house.  At one of our yard sales probably around 2000, some coins got away from us, and rolled across the porch.  We all went scrambling to pick them up, but Gary, of course always on a different track, went for the epoxy.  He he came back and glued one of the quarters down to the porch right where he found it.  .

I wish I had a good photo of it, but believe me, there is a little speck there just to the left of the door, and it is a quarter.  It has been there forever, and for all I know, it still is.

I wish I HAD a quarter, (or even a dime, or a nickle) for every time someone tried to pick it up over the years. 

Many thanks to Isaac for making me smile. 

Practical Joking 101 - Wedding Love

Weddings are a great place for showing off your practical joking skills.  In fact, Gary used to keep a package of black, plastic ants in his suit jacket for placing a few on the Cake table when no one was looking at nearly every wedding.  That was "fun", but when our daughters' babysitter, Diana got married, back in the 80's, this called for something bigger.  Diana, was more than a babysitter.  She and her fiance Rich were our friends.  The wedding was beautiful.  Everything was perfect.

During the reception, Gary disappeared for a while then rejoined the party.  The time came to send the couple off on their honeymoon.  Goodbyes, kisses, and waves complete, the best man started the engine of the borrowed car, and ...

I think Gary even surprised himself at the amount of orange smoke which billowed from the engine area when the car was started.  (The Army surplus store had been one of Gary's favorite "toy stores".  The smoke signaling flare had followed him home one day.)  It was amazing how fast the Bride and Groom were able to jump out of the car, and the guests stood around for some time trying to assign blame.  I seem to remember one of the groomsmen, Diana's brother-in-law, getting tagged for it at the time.

Anyway, if you ever had a Gary Price practical joke played on you, it likely caused you no small inconvenience, but it's because he loved you, as he loves this dear couple who, unbelievably, are dear friends to this day.

Diana, Rich and Gary in 2010

Practical Joking 101 - Templeton

For those of you who are "humor challenged," fresh out of ideas for practical jokes, or just want to have a good laugh, keep an eye out for "Practical Joking 101."  Lately, I've been reminded of some of Gary's antics.  I decided to include some of them here on the blog.

Kathy wrote:  Hi Laurie, I read your post and the line about Gary having a practical joke up his sleeve made me remember the time I called him to come rescue me. Ric was out of town or something and I was 8 months pregnant with Jordan. While reading "Charlotte's Web" with Templeton the rat, I found a real rat at my feet! My 3 cats killed it but wouldn't take it outside. So I called Gary for help. So Gary and the girls came over and were laughing at me because by this time I was sitting on the top of the couch. So Gary picks up the rat by the tail, walks into my kitchen (and I can't see him by this time) and turns on the garbage disposal, and says, "Is this OK?" I vowed to call someone else the next time I was in trouble!  By the way, he didn't really put it down the garbage disposal!

  TIP:  It's not what you ACTUALLY did, it's what they THINK you did.