family story (2/17/09)

There are many stories that my family is, rather embarrassingly, more than willing to tell. Most of the ones that automatically pop into my head are about me because I not only hear them but was there when they happened so can recall the emotions and factual happenings clearly. However, going further back in my family, there is a story that my father tells when someone asks him a good way of revenge. His story begins one summer when he was in his twenties at a summer theatre camp. At the camp, not only work for the end-of-the-summer performance was done, but there was also lots of free time as well. During this free time, there was one guy (as my father tells it) who used to take extreme joy in hiding it unexpected places and scaring the women of the came when they happened to walk by. At first, the women were mildly amused but after a while asked my dad to think of a way to get back at this guy for constantly frightening them. That night, my dad and a friend hid under the man’s bed before he went to sleep. Of course, the man’s wife was lovingly in on the plan so she more than happily stepped out of the room for a moment when someone asked her to. As my dad and his friend patiently waited under the bed, the man got ready, turned off the light and unknowingly hopped under the covers. After a few minutes in total darkness my dad and his friend started to take slow, deep, loud breaths. My dad recalls how he could hear the man above him shift uncomfortably lower under the covers. Then, all-of-a-sudden, my dad and his friend took their hands, reached around, and whapped the bed (and consequently the man) above them. He screamed and sat straight up while the entire theatre troop came in laughing. My dad said it took a few minutes for the man to regain color in his face and start talking normally again but he never scared anyone else for the rest of the summer. I’m not quite sure what this story tells about me or my family. But I do know it is a fun one to tell and if I were in the same situation, I might have to use it on a mischievous guy. I believe the story not only helps people figure out ways of revenge but also tells people not to scare others in the first place. I think this story accurately tells how my family is fun-loving and willing to help people in need.
-Julia St. John