Everybody at one time or another has pulled a prank on a friend or friends. When age 19, I was a spot on prankster. I was constantly pulling pranks not on my friends but on perfect strangers. These were classics which to this day amaze everyone who knows about them. I am going to expose three that are my favorites.

Prank One

I grew up in the second largest city in New England in the 1960s. This city had several monuments and towers in the strangest places. One tower named Bancroft Tower was at the top of a hill in the middle of a neighborhood. Ringing the tower was a parking area where visitors could stop and admire the view of the city.

At night the parking area was a Mecca for lovers. Every car had one or two couples kissing and making out for hours. The windows would be fogged up and sometimes the cars would be rocking. The police did not patrol here because crime was not a big issue.

A friend worked for a company that made cryogenic ball valves. These are valves that controlled the flow of liquid oxygen to fuel rockets that put satellites in orbit. He would travel to Cape Canaveral to inspect the valves for wear and make sure they functioned as specified.

As part of the equipment for doing his job he had to wear a specially made suit to protect him if a fire erupted. This suit covered his whole body and was coated with a shiny metal skin. The top of the suit was a rectangular hood that resembled what an alien from outer space would wear landing on Earth. It was also bulky and in the dark was real scary.

He and I would drive up to Bancroft Tower at 10:30 when the die hard lovers were at their peak. We would park in an obscure area of the park and get out of the car. One of us would get the suit out of the trunk of his car and put it on.

The one not wearing the suit would run around the parking lot bumping into cars and screaming for help. Lights would come on in the cars and people would open their windows wondering what was going on. The hysterical person would run to a window and tell this tale of being chased by aliens from outer space. They were after him now and he needed to get away. Of course no one believed him and they would roll their window back up and continue whatever they were doing.

Meanwhile my friend in his fire suit would be walking stiffly into the parking area as if he were looking for me. He would bump into the cars and bang his hand on the hood or a door. The more noise he made the more attracted people would get to look at him. Because these fire suits were new and had not been exposed to the public they were very scary.

The girls in the cars would be screaming and the guys would be getting riled by their screams. My friend would walk up to a car and knock on the window. The lovers look up scream put their clothes back right. The car starts and races out of the parking lot. Soon there would be a line of cars leaving and we would be standing there laughing at them.

If you are ever out parking at your favorite spot and someone or something taps on your window in a shiny silver suit, it might just be me.

Prank Two

The same tower as in the above has a small raised grass area surrounding it. This grass area is about 18” higher than the parking lot. Holding this grass is a beautifully build stone wall. There is a single path that allows entrance to the tower via two stairs.

My friend and his girlfriend and I would plan on a moonless night to have a little fun up on the tower grass. Moonless nights were better because more parkers would be out. It was more private so well you know what goes on. We all did it as kids.

My friend and his girlfriend would drive up and park close to the entrance to the tower. They would make out for a little while waiting for the rest of the prank to unfold. When things were real quiet and everyone was busy. That was when I would strike.

I would drive up in my hotrod car with the load exhaust and squealing tires. I would brake to a quick halt near his car but not blocking him in. Mean while in his car he had moved from the driver’s side to the passenger’s side. His girlfriend was ready to make the getaway.

I would get out of my car yelling and screaming about where was my girlfriend and she had been taken by my best friend and I was going to get her back no matter what it took. I would walk around the lot looking in cars asking for my girlfriend.

When I have just about everyone’s attention, I would spy my friend’s car. I would run up to the passenger’s door throw it open and pull my friend out of the car. We would scuffle for a few minutes making it look like I was beating him up. The parkers were watching but did not want to join in helping my friend.

At some point I would get very angry and yell at the top of my voice that I was going to kill him for stealing my girl. He would start to run away from me towards the edge of the grass area. I would pull a gun from my waistband. I would take careful aim and just as he got to the edge I would shoot him. He would fall over the edge onto the grass that was below and roll away. He would get up and walk down the hill partly waiting for his girlfriend to pick him up.

Meanwhile I would be yelling at his girlfriend in the car. She would start crying hysterically and scream back at me. It was a typical ex-lovers spat. She would get mad and slam the door, start the car and drive off. As she drove away I would take the pistol and shoot at her.

By this time all the other cars lights were on and the engines revving. There was a mass exodus from the parking lot. My friend was picked up by his girl and went to our favorite 24 hour diner for coffee. I would jump in my car and race after her down the hill.

Once at the diner we would recount the happenings and see where we could make it better for next time. There was always a next time. For those who are curious the pistol used was a track and field starter’s pistol.

Prank Three

This prank was done anywhere. The cars when I grew up did not have split front seats. Couples would ride around with the guy driving and his girl practically sitting in his lap. This was highly illegal and police would pull couples over if they were too close. It did not stop the couples.

When we needed a trouble light to carry in the car we had these big lanterns that had a bulb at the front that was clear and a red blinking light on the back that could be extended up about 18 inches.

We always had one with us in the front seat of the car. If we were driving down the highway and we saw a couple sitting too close we would follow them for a while making sure they were ok to prank.

We would pull up close to the back of the car we were following raise the blinking red light and follow a little farther. It was always funny how fast the girl would move over to hug the passenger door in fear of being pulled over and cited. Most of the time not only would the girl slide over but they would pull over expecting to have to answer to the police.

Of course we would drive by waving at them laughing. Never once were we caught or reported.

As you have read I was a prankster and all these are real events that my friend and I did as teenagers. For the record we never harmed anyone or intended to. It was all done in fun. We never got arrested and never got stopped by the police. Today if we did something like this we would be serving time in jail or at least arrested.