SHENANIGANS--BLOG OFF FOR BREAST CANCER

--1. questionable act: something that is deceitful, underhanded, or otherwise questionable ( usually used in the plural )

--2. trick or prank: a playful trick, mischievous prank, or other display of high spirits

While I was looking for some inspiration for this post I of course googled the word shenanigans. I was a little disappointed with the lack of information I came across. I found a few sites with definitions and then a whole bunch of listing for bars, restaurants etc. I did however learn a couple of things I did not know...

-- There was a kids game show in the 60's called Shenanigans

-- There is a board game based on this show

-- There are a lot of Pubs called Shenanigans

So after my attempts to be inspired by searching the Internet have failed, I have come to the realization that I am on my own for this one.

I am certain we all have many stories of when we were kids and teenagers and all the silly stuff we got up to. Tomfoolery, if you will. Seems to me that people seem to always get up to shenanigans late at night. I wonder why that is? Maybe it makes the element of surprise easier. I spent many summers at camp when I was growing up. First as a camper and then later on as a staff member and when I think of shenanigans it is those times that come to mind.

My first memories as a deviant getting up to no good and playing pranks on people was at Sunday School camp if I remember correctly. My friend Rae and I got up to all sorts of no good that week, most of it at the expense of one girl in particular in our cabin. One night we pulled the old "hand in hot water" trick, the next night we found a stray kitten lurking around outside our cabin and laid it on her pillow above her head and woke her telling her there was a big rat in her bed. The night after that we awoke her with a flashlight in her face and yelling TRAIN! Poor girl, we never let down all week long. I am pretty sure that to this day she does not forgive me for my shenanigans that week.

As I got older the pranks became more fun.

I remember as a senior at music camp we did some crazy stuff. There was the time the diving board got stolen and held for ransom. There was the time we stole our counselors mattresses. The time a group of us canoed across the lake in the dead of night to capture the flag from the Jewish camps flagpole across the lake. Sneak water gun attacks. Oh the fun we had. I remember one time finding our bras had been strung up outside the dining hall and on the flagpole. Embarrassing? Sure. But did we deserve it? Heck ya!!

I think of the times all us girls in our cabin at night would laugh about the silliest things. I think of Jenn running up and down the hallway with her pillow and pillow case over her head. I remember one night in particular at music camp we were up to all sorts of no good late one night in the cabin making all sorts of noise. Too much sugar perhaps. I remember Char (our counselor) storming down the hallway and yelling at us. Her words were something along the lines of "get in bed, shut up and I don't want to see or hear one more person out of bed. I don't care if you have to go to the bathroom, WET the bed!" Oh the trouble we always got in for our shenanigans. But what fun really would it have been without them?!

One summer when I worked in the kitchen, we were sick of all the male staff members playing tricks and pulling pranks on us so we decided to get a couple of them back. One day when we made lasagna we "laced" two of the pieces with a whole lot of Metamucil and served them to two specific staff members, (Kirsten you should ask Chris about this, I am sure he remembers). Later that day one of the guys came to get some milk to try to settle his stomach, little did he know. We proceeded to tell him we hoped he had a very moving weekend. Shenanigans!! Fun times.

I am sure there are people out there who are grumpy and bitter and therefore don't like jokes and pranks. Those people who think shenanigans should be outlawed. I think those are the people who have just always been on the wrong end of the jokes. Those people need to take a chance and pull something off on someone else. Have some fun.

Once again, this is a post for the Blog Off for Breast Cancer. Feel free to click on any of the links on the right to check out any of the other blogs involved. Also, if you'd like to make a donation to Courtney, please click on the banner below.

Enjoy the video below, the best use of shenanigans in cinema!

****It does contain some foul language, so please be careful of little ears.****