Tricks and Pranks and That Which Earned Spanks

We were not the Walton’s’ nor the Brady Bunch, we were the Gabriel’s; loud, rambunctious and naughty. I was the boss, at least until my brothers became stronger. In spite of our unruly behavior we were all good at the core and cared for each other dearly. We proved that time and time again.

One day in early Spring I was in my upstairs bedroom and looked out the window. What seemed like far below was my father sitting in a lawn chair. All of a sudden the idea popped into my head about how funny it would be to pour a bucket of water over him. Perhaps it was the after effects of watching The Three Stooges or perhaps it came from the real desire to stump the teacher. Nevertheless I found a children’s bucket, filled it with water and slowly opened the screen window. The torrent landed on the top of his head and he jumped up from his chair yelling “Who did that?” He looked to the left; he looked to the right, not a child in sight. The tone of his voice gave me pause, but the delight of my clever maneuver thrilled me; after all he never looked up.

Ours were a life of constant action and mishaps. The pranks we played on each other were followed by concentrated attention to the cover ups. One cover up my brother reminded me of was made of Marshmallow Fluff. It was used to cover up a hole that mistakenly got punched into the wall. Did I do that? Sometimes a child was discovered under the couch having bunked school. Sometimes sweets were mysteriously missing from the cupboard. Now who could have done that? Sometimes our prized possessions would suddenly be missing and found in the hiding spots of the siblings. The best thing was we had free reign of our imagination and that provided for hours of entertainment. I recall lining up kitchen chairs in the basement and making the children sit like they were on a train. I continued to direct them in a full stage play of, The Little Caboose That Could.

I would often make caves with the blankets and each child had a role to play. I didn’t say they wanted to, but I was the director.

There was always a baby in the house and I can honestly say that the unconditional love of a child in your arms is the closest I have ever been to heaven. I changed a diaper and when I balked at the odor of a smelly mess I remembered my mom saying ‘When it’s your own baby you will think its perfume.” I did not find that to be quite true, but it’s a noble thought.

There was a laundry room in the basement. I remember the dirty clothes pile was twice the height of me. Ronnie used to hide in it. We had an old wringer type washer and I would help with the washing. One day my fingers got caught in the ringer. My fingers were very white and flat. There was an emergency button you could push to stop the machine. I was Lady MacBeth made as much out of it as I could.  After all a childhood tragedy should never go to waste. I think I got an ice cream out of that. My siblings have surly more to tell. I hope they add to this post in comments and reminisce with me at the precious times gone by.