Al loved humor, and jokes, and most of all, pranks. Humor was one thread that ran throughout his entire life, from childhood to the very end.
Though as Dottie notes, he didn't really like jokes, as much as he really loved pranks.
I'll start with one from my High School graduation of all things, from Tabor Academy. After the speeches and conferring of degrees, everyone headed outside onto the lawn. Al wasn't content with the usual ceremony and post-graduation hugs. Instead he started going around to other families that were gathering to take pictures and inserting himself into group as they took a photograph--pretending to be part of the family for a group of people he had never met!! Of course, this included certain girls I 'liked,' and was very embarrassing I felt, but years later whenever I ran into someone from high school they would laugh about how my there was this strange unknown grandfather in their high school graduation photos! Everyone loved it.
Another of my favorite testaments to Al's remarkable sense of humor. Al couldn't just leave, he had to make an EXIT. So with Bo for support, Al stood on the porch to make a dramatic waving to the crowd exit. Only, everytime the crowd gathered under him, he quickly use Bo to sprint to another side of the porch and start waving! By the time the adoring masses regrouped under the other side of the porch, he'd be off again to another spot. Eventually he snuck right off the stage and into his waiting car, dissapearing and leaving the crowd (us!) wishing for more.
-Pete
The big-voiced referee
What made Al such a great prankster was his multiple methods of attack. Most of the posts so far have demonstrated his ability to plan and carry out his pranks over long periods of time. But he also had a keen sense of the moment and could pull a prank extemporaneously as well. The best evidence I have of this was the one he played on Roie at Thanksgiving in the early 80s. After dinner we had all retired to the front room at 482 Washington Rd to watch the late football game. At some point Roie came in to sit with the guys. During this time a few penalties occured and each time the play stopped the referee would come to the center of the field and announce the penalty to the crowd and television audience. After the third of fourth call, Roie blurted out, "My what a big voice he has." Al nodded his concurrence and said, "Yes, Rose, that's how they chose them." I'm not sure he ever explained the truth to her! (Ted)
LaLa and Elizabeth Allen add: (ED.: these are fantastic!!)
#1 Al used to play bridge weekly with a group of guys- real characters, I assure you. They would rotate from house to house. Peg Scanlon,(Tom Scanlon's wife-Tom was co -owner of Avid which they bought from Tom's older brother , Ed (a real chaarcter in his own right). Enough history, where was I?
Well each time the boys were over playing bridge Peg noted that some piece of china tableware would be gone- presumably broken. Over a year this added up, but Peg -as the attrition was so gradual- never noted or commented on it. One night Al invited the Scanlon's over for dinner, and served them on their china!@
#2Another joke was with our dentist, Frank Commette (?). I do not know about the other kids but he was very tolerant, so much so that Marcy & I used to spray him with the water rinser!
They were having lunch, and Dad who was stuck against a wall asked Frank to go out to his car - pointing to a blue Buick and get out his camera. Frank, went out and was rumaging about the car when a lady ran out and started yelling " Stop thief!"
#3My favorite- and this was played on Dad and his golf foursome up in Rockport. They all had just
driven off the tee in the middle of their game. as they proceed to head down to their balls, a little old lady with a bonnet and a basket came out of the woods and picked up each of the balls. Yells of consternation ensued, but the little old lady calmly walked into the woods. As golfers seem to take their game rather seriously, I thought this perfect- credit for this prank goes to Norman Von Rosenvinge ( a great pal of Aunt Erma, but a CHaracter again,and not entirely - maybe mostly loaded- without faults, but he shone here )
--Lala
What made Al such a great prankster was his multiple methods of attack. Most of the posts so far have demonstrated his ability to plan and carry out his pranks over long periods of time. But he also had a keen sense of the moment and could pull a prank extemporaneously as well. The best evidence I have of this was the one he played on Roie at Thanksgiving in the early 80s. After dinner we had all retired to the front room at 482 Washington Rd to watch the late football game. At some point Roie came in to sit with the guys. During this time a few penalties occured and each time the play stopped the referee would come to the center of the field and announce the penalty to the crowd and television audience. After the third of fourth call, Roie blurted out, "My what a big voice he has." Al nodded his concurrence and said, "Yes, Rose, that's how they chose them." I'm not sure he ever explained the truth to her! (Ted)
LaLa and Elizabeth Allen add: (ED.: these are fantastic!!)
#1 Al used to play bridge weekly with a group of guys- real characters, I assure you. They would rotate from house to house. Peg Scanlon,(Tom Scanlon's wife-Tom was co -owner of Avid which they bought from Tom's older brother , Ed (a real chaarcter in his own right). Enough history, where was I?
Well each time the boys were over playing bridge Peg noted that some piece of china tableware would be gone- presumably broken. Over a year this added up, but Peg -as the attrition was so gradual- never noted or commented on it. One night Al invited the Scanlon's over for dinner, and served them on their china!@
#2Another joke was with our dentist, Frank Commette (?). I do not know about the other kids but he was very tolerant, so much so that Marcy & I used to spray him with the water rinser!
They were having lunch, and Dad who was stuck against a wall asked Frank to go out to his car - pointing to a blue Buick and get out his camera. Frank, went out and was rumaging about the car when a lady ran out and started yelling " Stop thief!"
#3My favorite- and this was played on Dad and his golf foursome up in Rockport. They all had just
driven off the tee in the middle of their game. as they proceed to head down to their balls, a little old lady with a bonnet and a basket came out of the woods and picked up each of the balls. Yells of consternation ensued, but the little old lady calmly walked into the woods. As golfers seem to take their game rather seriously, I thought this perfect- credit for this prank goes to Norman Von Rosenvinge ( a great pal of Aunt Erma, but a CHaracter again,and not entirely - maybe mostly loaded- without faults, but he shone here )
--Lala
Sara checks in!
Does anyone remember how Al got me thinking he was my uncle? I was so little, and always going to Roie and Al's, and every time he'd great me with open arms saying, "Say hello to your uncle Al." I remember on several occasions running into the house on Washington Road yelling, UNCLE AL!! I never really thought about whether he was really my uncle or not, that was just how he taught me to greet him. Then one day I must have made the connection (much too late I'm sure) I remember thinking...how can he be my uncle if he's my dad's dad? He's my GRANDFATHER!!
Marcie notes a similar gag by Al: I am so glad Sara commented on Father's ability to muddle relationships: Harry Wheeler was never my uncle, but Al's mother's daughter's husband. No wonder we're all so confused!
Dad The Practical Joker…………Jeff
Along with clowning around for pictures, Dad was a great practical joker for all his life and he tells some of these in his writings and others have been passed along by word of mouth. Here are a few of my favorites.
Biggest Chest on the W&M Football Team…………Jeff
In 1936, when Dad first tried out for football at William & Mary he had to take a brief physical during which time they also took measurements for uniforms. The varsity line coach, Ottis Douglas was in charge with another assistant taking down the measurements. One such measurement was the player's chest measurements inhaled and exhaled. It was a measurement of lung capacity. The coach stood behind Dad holding the tape in the middle of his back and asked him to inhale deeply---hold--then exhale. He heard the coach say, "look at this. It is unbelievable." By the oo's and ah' s that he heard from the people at his back, Dad figured that he had just set the record by a large amount. In fact, so much so that Coach Douglass asked the head coach to come over to the bench and then asked him to repeat the procedure. Dad hoped that he could match the same record and an audience grew to watch. They all stood from behind (thank heavens) and watched the tape measurement as Dad filled his lungs to the full extent as Dad carefully, discretely, stuck a finger under the tape on the front of his chest and gradually pulled the tape about the 5 inches that he estimated he had pulled it the first time, then quickly exhaled before he could be caught. There were applause and whistles and Dad figures his record still stands.
The audacity of him!
Office Adoration…………Jeff
In the late 1970's at Avid Corporation, Dad decided to hire a new personal assistant to handle the workload of the secretary (Claudia) that was handling both Dad and my work. The lady he selected was the middle-aged wife of a friend of Mom and Dad's that worked for a large RI conglomerate and lived in Barrington. She was bored staying at home and looking of something to keep her busy. She came aboard and we made the transition smoothly.
At the time Avid had a comptroller who was very good at what he did, but a very quiet man around the office except when it came to presenting numbers. He was very shy, especially around women, and during her first week of work Dad saw the opportunity for some good natured fun.
After his new assistant had been on the job for a couple of weeks, he brought the comptroller into his office for a personal discussion. Dad was concerned that his new personal assistant, the wife of a friend, seemed to have an unusual interest in the controller. He had never seen her behave that way. He was concerned. Around the same time, during a meeting with his new office assistant, he expressed concern with the way the comptroller was behaving when he was around her and asked her to keep it confidential, but he was concerned. For the next couple of weeks, before Dad explained privately to both that he had been mistaken on his observation, the comptroller and the new office assistant would pass meekly in the office corridors like two ships in the night embarrassed at each others sight. How could he come up with these ideas!
The Up and Coming Rookie…………Jeff
Dad loved the Cleveland Indians and did his best to make Rich and Indian fans, but he wasn't above a practical joke at our expense about them even if we were only nine or ten.
As ten-year olds did at the time, we liked to talk baseball with our friends and we would brag about our team's chances in the coming season. One year Dad got us all excited about a new fire balling star pitcher named Willis Hudlin (spelling?) who was in the farm system and would be coming up to the team in the near future. Whenever we would get In heated debates about the best team I would remind my friends that the Indians would soon have Willis Hudlin and they had better look out. I sure had egg on my face when Dad told me later that year that not only was Willis not coming up that year, but he had just been kidding us. Willis had played for the Indians in the late 1920's and 1930's and had been put to pasture many years earlier.
Sandi Adds:
Dear Peter - Here is my "Al story"-I call it The Great China Caper" - Uncle Al was a funny man - a really smart man but a man with a very patient sense of humor. I'll always remember the tale of his weekly bridge game with friends. After the games, dessert would be served. Each time at this particular friend's house, Al would take and hide away (from Roie,too) a piece of the friend's dessert china (acup or a plate, a saucer) until after months of this, he had garnered service for four. He told Roie the pieces were a give-away program at the local gas station (as was done for promotions in those days). At the next bridge get-together, when dessert time arrived, the friends were served on a full setting of their own china! Of course, it was the initial look on their faces that was worth it all to Al! Al was my father's best friend as a young man and then they married the Reed twins so they continued life in tandem - lots of parties, travels and laughs together! -- Jay wanted to add his favorite rememberance of Al were the many planned sailing trips on the "Hoiqua" (spelling?], picnics made for enjoying on the high seas - to have every time some problem with the engine so they never left the dock! Thanks for doing this,Peter. Look forward to seeing it all! Love, Sandi
Marcie notes a similar gag by Al: I am so glad Sara commented on Father's ability to muddle relationships: Harry Wheeler was never my uncle, but Al's mother's daughter's husband. No wonder we're all so confused!
Dad The Practical Joker…………Jeff
Along with clowning around for pictures, Dad was a great practical joker for all his life and he tells some of these in his writings and others have been passed along by word of mouth. Here are a few of my favorites.
Biggest Chest on the W&M Football Team…………Jeff
In 1936, when Dad first tried out for football at William & Mary he had to take a brief physical during which time they also took measurements for uniforms. The varsity line coach, Ottis Douglas was in charge with another assistant taking down the measurements. One such measurement was the player's chest measurements inhaled and exhaled. It was a measurement of lung capacity. The coach stood behind Dad holding the tape in the middle of his back and asked him to inhale deeply---hold--then exhale. He heard the coach say, "look at this. It is unbelievable." By the oo's and ah' s that he heard from the people at his back, Dad figured that he had just set the record by a large amount. In fact, so much so that Coach Douglass asked the head coach to come over to the bench and then asked him to repeat the procedure. Dad hoped that he could match the same record and an audience grew to watch. They all stood from behind (thank heavens) and watched the tape measurement as Dad filled his lungs to the full extent as Dad carefully, discretely, stuck a finger under the tape on the front of his chest and gradually pulled the tape about the 5 inches that he estimated he had pulled it the first time, then quickly exhaled before he could be caught. There were applause and whistles and Dad figures his record still stands.
The audacity of him!
Office Adoration…………Jeff
In the late 1970's at Avid Corporation, Dad decided to hire a new personal assistant to handle the workload of the secretary (Claudia) that was handling both Dad and my work. The lady he selected was the middle-aged wife of a friend of Mom and Dad's that worked for a large RI conglomerate and lived in Barrington. She was bored staying at home and looking of something to keep her busy. She came aboard and we made the transition smoothly.
At the time Avid had a comptroller who was very good at what he did, but a very quiet man around the office except when it came to presenting numbers. He was very shy, especially around women, and during her first week of work Dad saw the opportunity for some good natured fun.
After his new assistant had been on the job for a couple of weeks, he brought the comptroller into his office for a personal discussion. Dad was concerned that his new personal assistant, the wife of a friend, seemed to have an unusual interest in the controller. He had never seen her behave that way. He was concerned. Around the same time, during a meeting with his new office assistant, he expressed concern with the way the comptroller was behaving when he was around her and asked her to keep it confidential, but he was concerned. For the next couple of weeks, before Dad explained privately to both that he had been mistaken on his observation, the comptroller and the new office assistant would pass meekly in the office corridors like two ships in the night embarrassed at each others sight. How could he come up with these ideas!
The Up and Coming Rookie…………Jeff
Dad loved the Cleveland Indians and did his best to make Rich and Indian fans, but he wasn't above a practical joke at our expense about them even if we were only nine or ten.
As ten-year olds did at the time, we liked to talk baseball with our friends and we would brag about our team's chances in the coming season. One year Dad got us all excited about a new fire balling star pitcher named Willis Hudlin (spelling?) who was in the farm system and would be coming up to the team in the near future. Whenever we would get In heated debates about the best team I would remind my friends that the Indians would soon have Willis Hudlin and they had better look out. I sure had egg on my face when Dad told me later that year that not only was Willis not coming up that year, but he had just been kidding us. Willis had played for the Indians in the late 1920's and 1930's and had been put to pasture many years earlier.
Sandi Adds:
Dear Peter - Here is my "Al story"-I call it The Great China Caper" - Uncle Al was a funny man - a really smart man but a man with a very patient sense of humor. I'll always remember the tale of his weekly bridge game with friends. After the games, dessert would be served. Each time at this particular friend's house, Al would take and hide away (from Roie,too) a piece of the friend's dessert china (acup or a plate, a saucer) until after months of this, he had garnered service for four. He told Roie the pieces were a give-away program at the local gas station (as was done for promotions in those days). At the next bridge get-together, when dessert time arrived, the friends were served on a full setting of their own china! Of course, it was the initial look on their faces that was worth it all to Al! Al was my father's best friend as a young man and then they married the Reed twins so they continued life in tandem - lots of parties, travels and laughs together! -- Jay wanted to add his favorite rememberance of Al were the many planned sailing trips on the "Hoiqua" (spelling?], picnics made for enjoying on the high seas - to have every time some problem with the engine so they never left the dock! Thanks for doing this,Peter. Look forward to seeing it all! Love, Sandi
Marcie adds
Father didn't stop being a prankster when he was ill. When nurses would drain his lung fluids,taking sometimes a full hour, he would start to nod his head, and gaze off...only to supply a wink when a concerned voice would say " Al, AL?"! He also told one his night nurses to pay attention to Dottie, in case she passed out: the nurse asked me if there was a long history of this problem(there is none). He'd done a similar thing to Roie before she moved into the 29 Rumstick house he bought in Barrington, I think telling his new friends that she was a lovely person but a little...off." Can you imagine!!!!
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