I know the adage, "It's not fun unless it's fun for everybody," and completely agree. If a person does something mean and calls it a prank, really she/he's just lying about being a bully. I'm not for that. But the other morning, when a bouncy house appeared in the middle of our school's Dining Hall, I applauded the efforts of our seniors.
Over the years, we've had all kinds of pranks pulled by the departing classes. One year, they put an ad in the rival school's local paper offering a "second-rate boarding school for sale." Another year, my then toddler daughter was delighted to sit on the Zamboni, which appeared on the grass quad next to our dormitory. The building's three-story rotunda once got netted in and filled with live birds. Another year, farm animals appeared on our school's front lawn. I think all of these pranks hit the mark.
Some years, the kids don't think things through. One year, they filled the plexiglass art display cases with water and live fish. They didn't realize that the plexiglass cases are expensive and fragile. Another year, people painted something on a statue of some bulls. The artist had to come do some major repair work, as the material isn't made for paint. Some pranks get left for others to clean up. Also not fun.
Back to the positive: I loved getting to see the faculty children enjoy the best breakfast of their lives when the bouncy house appeared. What a fun treat!
What pranks have you enjoyed or have you seen go wrong/miss the mark? Feel free to leave a comment.