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My dad and his three brothers grew up on the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio. They were all close in age and were inseparable, as if they were more of best friends rather than brothers. Everyone around town knew the brothers and often referred to them as the “Tonseth rascals,” because more than likely they were getting into trouble from playing pranks of the neighbors. My dad’s biggest dream was to play a prank on his 5th grade teacher, Ms. Garrison.
During a cold and snowy December, the four brothers built a snow fort and filled it with snowballs to launch at cars as they drove by. While rolling the perfect snowballs, my dad came up with the great idea to stack hundreds of snowballs on Ms. Garrison’s car, who lived three doors down from their house. After many treks to her house to cover it with hundreds, yes hundreds, of snowballs, the “Tonseth rascals” admired their finished product and quickly ran home to celebrate their accomplishment. The brothers couldn’t wait to tell their friends at school what they did to Ms. Garrison.
But right as the brothers were walking into their driveway, their mother and Ms. Garrison were waiting on the porch bundled up in scarves and jackets and drinking hot chocolate. They were laughing away as the “Tonseth rascals” stood there: jaws opened and dumbfounded. My grandmother was a teacher and friends with Ms. Garrison, and she had come over to enjoy hot cocoa and catch up on their lives. Instead, she was entertained by secretly watching the four brothers stack hundreds of snowballs on her car. Needless to say, she made just my father pick every single snowball off her car, and then my grandmother allowed his brothers to throw them at him. Guess the prank was on my dad.
thanks! maria tonseth