Ha....you thought this was to be a serious post didn't ya....not. Here goes....
One time, at band camp.....oh, sorry...it doesn't start out like that.....
Once upon a time there were three little bears......crap, not like that either?
Alright, alright, moving on.....It was Christmas Eve 2004, and as tradition called, we were to all contribute to the Polish Pollyanna. If you are not familiar with this type of giving, and sometimes it's called by a different name, it's rules were simple. Limit is $25.00 and gift ideas are unlimited....as long as you don't go over the alloted amount. The gift is to be wrapped and placed under the tree. At the time of gift giving, each person will receive a number which will correspond with their picking order. For example, number 1 chooses first, then number 2. BUT, number 2 can either pick from the tree or take number 1's gift and number 1 will have to take from the tree, and so on until everyone ends up with a gift. Simple, right?
So, back to Christmas Eve 2004. The Hubs and I had a fantastic idea for our Pollyanna. We decided to let a few select others in on it. Normally, this is against the rules...but rules are meant to be broken, correct?
That evening, everyone drew their numbers and picked their gifts. Ours was one of the last to be picked and ended up being traded to my Dad for his gift. Perfect, we thought,(insert evil laugh here) as our plan was coming together. At this point we all knew they were lottery tickets, as it was previously opened. And, as usual, my Dad will ALWAYS scratch them off right away. (which was one reason why he was the perfect recipient) He took a seat as we sat around him and he began to scratch them off with his pocket knife in normal Dad fashion.
First one.....dud. Second one....nothing again. Third one....oh, wait a minute...free ticket! Fourth one....$1.00! Fifth one.....dud. Sixth one....dud and so on as he had 25 tickets making up the $25.00 limit. I guess he was on maybe the tenth one or so when suddenly.......he jumped up. The light in the living room was on the dimmer side so he made his way into the kitchen. Our eyes followed. He put on his glasses. He brushed off the remaining paper on his pants. He looked again. And then.........
"I think I just one $10,000 dollars." he stammered as he entered the living room once again.
He handed the ticket to my Mom, she looked it over. He took it back.
"I think I just won $10,000 dollars." he said louder, grabbing at his chest. At this point everyone was at a standstill.
He moved over to the lamp. Looked again.
"Oh my God....I just won $10,000 dollars!" he yelled waving the ticket. The room erupted. At one point I could feel the floor shaking from everyone jumping up and down. There was screaming, mass chaos ensued as my Dad clutched his chest with one hand while waving the ticket with the other. It was a scene I had never witnessed before.
At some point my sister started to get teary eyed. She grabbed my arm all the while whispering, "Please, tell him. He is about to have a heart attack. I'm afraid he is going to die."
I had tears in my eyes also, but for an entirely different reason. Trying to control my laughter was almost unbearable right about now. I looked over at Hubs, he glanced at my Mom who nodded her head. It was time.
I slowly made my way to my Father. I held his arm and reached for the ticket. I turned it over and pointed out his oversight.
"It's not real." I explained to him.
"what's not real?" he questioned still in a lottery winning daze.
"The ticket." as I showed him the disclaimer Spencer's places on their practical jokes.
Again, he carried the ticket into the kitchen to get a better look. His eyes could have burned a hole in that ticket if he stared just one more second. I saw the realization hit his face. I waited for the reaction. He laughed. He looked again, I think just one last time to make sure. The room went silent, everyone holding their breath.
"You got me!" he laughed as and once again the room erupted.
We got him alright...and that night's events will go down in our family history as one of the best jokes ever played out.
And you know what? His heart made it through just fine.
Oh you're HORRIBLE!!!! To your dear ol dad. Just horrible. Ignore that fact that I'm still laughing. Actually, I thought you were going to say that he found a winning ticket and then, keeping with rules of the game, you stole them from him. THAT would have been horrible!
Posted by: Robert | 14 May 2008 at 09:32 PM