04/01/23: The Friday Final Thought, "A good prank is a declaration of friendship unlike any other." - Mike Turnbow

"Pranks are a way to show someone you care enough to make them laugh." - Unknown

Today is one of my favorite unofficial holidays… April Fools' Day! Have you ever pulled a prank that you and your target will never forget? I’ve got some stories… A few years back, during my time at Discover Financial - one of my colleagues (with whom I've had a long standing and fantastic prank war), arrived to work to find his phone, keyboard, mouse, and headset completely wrapped in rubber bands.

The best part was when he reached into his desk drawer for a tool to cut away all that rubber, only to find that his scissors were the most aggressively wrapped item of all!

Some of my best relationships were forged in the fire of a good prank. When you commit yourself to the task, you are dropping your guard, inviting a bit of fun into the equation, and leaving the door wide open for the payback that you likely deserve (preferably in the form of a retaliatory prank).

The payback I received for my rubber band number was brutal. In brief - "I" listed several items for sale on KSL Classifieds at ridiculously low prices. There was an ad for a flat-screen TV, a Camaro, and an assault rifle posted in my name that listed my work phone as the contact #... I had 60 voicemails by 8am with people begging to buy these things - *the gun ad generating the highest number and most aggressive messages, go figure. :)

I was impressed by my challenger! Neither one of us will ever forget that exchange and it puts a smile on my face every time I remember - so I say cheers to any good pranksters out there with plans for mischief today and that brings me to my final thought, "A good prank is a declaration of friendship unlike any other." - Mike Turnbow