Mean as a junkyard dog

I was a mean kid. One of the things I remember doing as a child I still regret to this very day. I was about ten years old and one of my playmates had a hearing problem and had hearing aids in both ears. Back then technology was not what it is today and these were very large and conspicuous hearing aids and attached to the ugliest thickest glasses I had ever seen. Several of my friends and I decided to play a trick on him and we all started lip-synching as if we were talking to each other but we were not making a sound. The little boy started adjusting the volume on his hearing aids upward and when he had it turned all of the way up we all screamed as loud as we could.

I am deaf in one ear and cannot hear much out of the other and soon will be fitted for my own hearing aids. I also ordered glasses last week and cannot wait to get them later this week as I am nearly blind when it comes to reading. No doubt this is payback for my dastardly deed to my little friend.

Lessons in life sometime go unheeded. The other day my wife came home from babysitting my granddaughters and apparently was preoccupied and perhaps a little loopy and without realizing it parked on the second instead of the third floor of our parking garage where we normally park. She took the elevator on up to our floor as she always does and did not notice it. The next morning she went to the third floor and her car was not where she believed she left it. She became highly distressed and thought it had been stolen. To make a long story short after several frantic phone calls, panic, and some tears, she finally found the car where she left it on the second floor. She is still mightily distressed over this incident and concerned that she might be losing her mind instead of attributing it to mere preoccupation after a hard, (fun), day of babysitting or perhaps just a momentary bout with female loopiness. (Sorry ladies)

Last night I was mulling through this incident in my mind and decided to play a little trick on her. I asked her where my ice cream was. She looked at me and said, “What ice cream?” I went on to tell her I had asked her three separate times to get me some ice cream and each time she told me she would get it and then went on doing other things as if she was in her own little world. Immediately I saw the concern flash across her face. She did not remember me ever asking her for ice cream, could it be that she indeed was losing her mind and here was yet another example of it? Now I had to laugh at her expense. (It ended up being my’ expense as she was not amused and I can assure you that I did not laugh long or too loud.)

To tell you the truth I do not know why I occasionally play mean tricks on people. It was all intended in good fun but sometimes it backfires and people get upset and hurt by silliness. Fortunately my wife is a good sport and she was actually amused once she cooled off a bit and discovered my clever plan, but there are those who really take it to heart and get feelings hurt. If I might make a suggestion, lighten up and don’t take yourself so seriously. Our best bet is to just laugh along with others at ourselves when we occasionally do something loopy or when someone plays a joke on us.

If laughing at yourself is not in the cards for you and kidding around is not your bag, then avoid the kidders in life. Kidders beware too. If you know someone that is overly sensitive and cannot take a joke, then by all means avoid playing tricks on them, or joking around with them. Pay particular attention if your wife happens to fall in this category, especially those of us who consider it good sport to kid around with our wives…

Proverbs 25:26
It is better to dwell in a corner
of a housetop,
Than in a house shared with a
contentious woman.