11 Saran Wrap

 I always have enjoyed practical jokes.   I read about this one in Mad Magazine and I decided it might be fun to try! It was my senior year in high school and what the heck!

One late afternoon after sports practice another high school teammate and I put saran wrap over two of the toilet bowls in the lady’s bathroom and put the seat down. In the dim light it was very difficult to see. It was such gentle material that it was even difficult to feel by the more sensitive parts of the body.

Saran Wrap at Berthoud High School 1961                                 After that, the school closed and we went home for the evening. In the morning the school bus arrived before the building was open and I was clustered with other students by the school door that also led downstairs to the lady’s restroom.

Suddenly I saw through the long window in the door Mrs. S going downstairs. I thought that was the last person I expected to experience this practical joke. I hoped she would only be going to Home Economics room.  However, it was not long before Mrs. S came back up the stairs. She looked madder than a wet hen! (Maybe the wrong word choice?) I was really in trouble this time.  We watched her stomp past our door and up the stairs to the principal’s office.  In a few minutes Mr. Zeller returned with her down the stairs. He had a rather concerned look on his face, but she was still angry.

After another few minutes, the two of them returned and proceeded to his office. She was still angry but Mr. Zeller, lagging a bit behind was biting his lip and seemed to be trying to keep from laughing. I was uncertain what was going to happen next. Actually, I heard nothing for a number of months. But the rest of the story began to slowly unfold. I did not talk about this to anyone except for my accomplice in setting the prank. He did not talk about it either. It was a good thing we did not share this around as the word would have eventually gotten back to Mr. Zeller. I think he was waiting for such gossip to unfold.

Something I learned several years later at a class reunion was that Mr. Zeller had made inquiries that day and called the cheerleaders to his office. They also had stayed after school for practice for a short time the day before and Mrs. S was sure they were the culprits. Who else would dare to go into the lady’s restroom?

He began lecturing them about the bad situation they had created and how messy this would be for someone. They were not sure what he was talking about, and they thought they had inadvertently caused some problem about which they were unaware. And they even apologized for whatever it might have been.

Finally, Mr. Zeller got over his discomfort of talking about such private matters and went into detail about the Saran Wrap. Suddenly, the girls realized that this was not something they had done, but they were in trouble now. “We did not do that!” went the chorus. That exclamation convinced him that it was not they who had done this dastardly deed.

Mrs. S was not convinced and G…….. and V…….. were called back into the office for more interrogation.  It is a good thing we did not brag about the prank or it would have been sure to come out in the open.

The issue went unresolved until the yearbook came out the last week of school.  In the “Class Will”, I had willed my roll of Saran Wrap to Mr. Zeller.  Fortunately, Mr. Zeller had been too busy with the closing school year and had not even looked at the yearbook! When I had written that, my classmates thought it was a funny comment, but still did not realize that it was really me who had done the prank.

Before the class reunion, the former cheer leaders had gone through our yearbook again and my will completed the story for them. They related to me their own embarrassment of being accused at that time. The awkwardness of the issue had left memories.  We all had a good laugh.

Several years ago, I was at a service project where I had joined hundreds of other educators from around the States to evaluate the College Advanced Placement Geography tests.  I ran into another examiner from Loveland, Colorado, and we began reminiscing. He was a good friend of Bruce Zeller and told me that Zeller was in an extended care facility.  He gave me Bruce’s email and I wrote to him. After a few exchanges the background of this story became clear, and we had a good laugh!

Bruce Zeller sent me an email on July 28, 2012:

“That incident was one of the highlights of my career. Every time I think of it, I get a good laugh. Mrs. S was really angry and upset. I think you finally came to me after graduation and told me what happened.”

Laughter is a good thing; I would be happy to know that Bruce took this with him, as he passed shortly after this.