RIGHT OF PASSAGE

     There is a right of passage that high school kids have had for generations.  Especially Seniors.  We have always called it hornery, hi jinks, pranks, pick your term and generation.
     My grandfather would push over outhouses when there was actually time off the farm to horse around with friends. They would also set back the outhouses so someone would fall in the hole.  In 1924 Grampa and friends set the principles car on his front porch.
       My dad was involved in hanging the playground merry go round on the top of the windmill on Main street Goddard.  They also would block mainstreet in Goddard with everything that could be drug into town and then put county snow fence across both ends.  As the Sheriff came to one end of the street the kids would be yelling and waving on the other.  When he came around that side they would hide on top of the lumber yard while another group was at the other end yelling and laughing.
     There was a long tradition around Goddard on Halloween.  Every farmer knew that if anything was left parked in a field, for several miles around, that he would have to go pick it up the next morning in town.  There was one old Studebaker wheat truck that had a trick to starting.  No one knew that my aunt knew the trick.  When that truck ended up on main a certain boy got the blame.  He never knew until 30 years after.
     In my time our principle drove a Volkswagon Bug.  It was turned sideways in its spot several times.  There was the time when a portable sign was hoisted up on the roof of the new high schools commons area entrance.
     The last week in school was a big water gun fight.  Those who were not real sharp got caught and got 3 days off.  Those who were a little slicker made it thru.  I never got caught but my brother did.
     It is hard for kids nowadays to be a little bit hornery.  A water gun would be a major offense that would draw national news attention and mark the kids for life.  There are no outhouses, windmills, and I bet the merry go round does not come off easy if there was something to hang it on.
     Last week Pratt High School had one of the best pranks I have heard of in years.  136 square bales of straw were piled in the entrances and blocking the streets.  They did their homework on this one.  They knew the routine of the police patrol, so after 12:30 they went to work and had it all done in 20 minutes.  Yes they were on camera.  No they did not show their faces.  But there is a pretty good idea who did it.
     The bad thing is if anyone owns up to owning the straw bales and they are deemed 'stolen' there could be bad things happen.  One thing I have noticed in the last few years is there is so much distruction with many pranks.  This one did not hurt a thing.
     In Cheney they used to haul round bales out in the country and set them on fire on the county roads.  I remember one Halloween when Main street was littered with tires and an outhouse (they burned it).  There was a used toilet behind the plumbing shop and it was set in the drive thru of the bank and the spray painted message on the lid was 'Night Deposits'.  They arrested the kid who was making the deposit.  The firefighters were always on duty on halloween in Cheney and the Chief who was also Chief of Police got real ticked off when the firefighters were egging the cars coming buy who were egging the station.
     The only ones in Pratt who should be mad is the citizens who would assume that the police would make rounds more often than 4 to 5 hours.  The prank was discovered by a maintainance man and 4:30.  Faces should be red down at the station.  Someone who really wanted to do something bad could have figured out the routine.  Really I thought predictable rounds went out with my generation.  Pratt is not that big, and this is May, come on.
     Lets hope that in years to come at reunions, the coffee shop, and the barber shop that this will be laughed about as good memories.  Not as a silly thing that ruined a bunch of good kids lives.