Shenanigans!

Shenanigans is defined by dictionary.com as:  deceptive, prankish, or deceitful. Old country folk like me pronounce the word with a twinkle in our eye and understand it to mean "Tomfoolery"! The action could be a prank or some other type of deception that is done in such a way that no one is hurt or humiliated in any way. Some shenanigans become almost traditional in that the deception is so good it can be used over and over.

Around 1968 Mr. John came to work at my school as the Vocational Agriculture teacher. I knew him then as a student and later as a colleague. Mr. John was a fine teacher,  and he loved kids. He was a strict disciplinarian due to the danger to the student that a shop full of machines posed.  He would light your britches up if you broke his rules, were disrespectful, or did something to put others in danger. Even so, his students loved him. He would do anything he could for a kid, and they knew he loved every one of them. He loved to charge them a dime or quarter for an old piece of scrap wood, or talk to them about eating possum or coon..I can still hear that distinctive laugh and see the twinkle in his eyes.

Anyway, I knew Mr. John well, and I knew he loved shenanigans. Each year we began to expect it. As he began to work with his students, he could soon tell which ones were gullible and able to take a little prank without getting their feathers ruffled too much. He would always send a kid to me first, probably because he knew I would fall in with the gag. The kid would knock on the door, stick his head in and ask " Coach...umm...Mr. John wants to know if you still have the lumber stretcher or not?". The kid would have no clue that there was no such thing. Sometimes the question would be "Coach, do you know who has that left handed screwdriver?". Sounds mean huh? You must understand, most of the faculty and staff were lifelong members of the school district, kids were neighbors and kin, and the atmosphere was a lot more laid back than it is today. Even the lady teachers would play along.  Kids were good as gold most of the time, and they knew how to take punishment when it was needed. They also knew Mr. John would pick at them playfully as would some of the others. In other words, it was part of the "normal" scheme of things at our little school.

Knowing Mr. John was up to some shenanigans, I would say " Well, I had it but Coach M came and borrowed it the other day, so you go see him." Coach M would in turn send him to someone else and so on until the kid figured it out himself, or one of the precious lady teachers gently informed him of the folly, or he reported back to Mr. John that it couldn't be found. A little embarrassment along with some good natured ribbing was about all that ever came of it. The kids understood that he picked at them because he loved them and would never, ever do them any harm. Mr. John has gone to his heavenly home now. I tip my hat to him, he was a master at...shenanigans!