Here is a little story i wrote to illustrate being on a Div. I Hockey team and gettting delayed in an airport. Hope you enjoy.
“Whooooaaa,” the lady shrieked as the prize she thought she had in her grasp leaped from her like toad from a lily pad. Twenty or so players erupted in laughter as another victim fell to the team.
“That’s four Cheeks!” I yelled as we continue to rack them up like Gretzky racked up points in the late 80’s. I went over and grabbed the bait off the ground and prepared to cast it into the busy airport walkway again. The more people that reached for it, the greater the roar of laughter, and the more people we drew into watching this very amateur candid camera skit.
The prank is simple. A string, fishing line, or thread pulled out of the carpet attached to a dollar bill by a sliver of scotch tape. It usually has to be a three person gig. First, the runner is in charge of casting the bait into the hustle bustle of the airport terminal. Simply walking out and dropping the dollar amidst the crowd and then looping around inconspicuously. Often times a pause to check the time, a reach into a pocket or kneeling to tie a shoe provides the concealment and distraction for the drop.
The next position is the fisherman. He lies down behind some bags or chairs and is in charge of pulling the string, and subsequently the dollar away from the unknowing victim. The last position and arguably the most important is the spotter. The spotter sits next to the fisherman and looks for people who eye the bill and begin to alter their path so they might scoop up the buck without being seen by others.
“We got one here.” Cheeks (Eric Sefchik) whispers to Pierson, the fisherman, as Cheeks is thumbing through a local newspaper looking inconspicuous. The man is well dressed wheeling his luggage behind him and walking briskly towards his gate. His scarf is floating behind him due to his stretching stride. He veers left and moves his newspaper from his right hand and pins it under his left arm which tows his luggage. “He’s ready to bite.” Cheeks adds.
The man strides up, peeks over his shoulder, and then straight ahead. He stops in front and with a slight bend in his knees lowers his out stretched arm toward the cash. “Now,” Cheeks implores aided by a kick of his foot to Pierson’s side. The timing is perfect as his fingers get within inches before the bill takes flight and zips away. The man is frozen. Shocked for a second he realizes he is the victim of a prank. Staying bent at the waist he looks at the group of young men, all in uniform, bellowing with amusement. He laughed and walked on to his gate, surely to remember this jaunt through the terminal.
Harmless fun is not always without consequences. When the fish aren’t biting there is a tendency to improve the bait. Drew Pierson had the idea last year to up the ante when pedestrians were uninterested in a one dollar bill. “Let’s get it going! Put this on the line.” Drew demanded as he handed me a twenty.
“You sure about this Drew?” I asked in amazement. Sure enough he was adamant and we cast the twenty into the stream of pedestrians and sure enough the bites came furiously at first. Then we had a man fall for the pull but he persisted. He located the string and as the fisherman pulled furiously the man still chased. He lunged his foot out and clamped the line to the ground. Uh oh, I thought as the man had neutralized the cash. He calmly looked at the guys who quickly went from laughter to shock as he snatched the bill from the line and smiled.
“Good joke. Thanks for lunch later. See ya.” The man stated as he walked off with his friends laughing. We were all shocked. Pierson thought he was going to come back. He didn’t. That man got the best of us and rode off into the sunset like Clint Eastwood. All the guys chipped in a reimbursed Pierson but a valuable lesson was learned. When fooling around you should always be prepared for the consequences.
“Whooooaaa,” the lady shrieked as the prize she thought she had in her grasp leaped from her like toad from a lily pad. Twenty or so players erupted in laughter as another victim fell to the team.
“That’s four Cheeks!” I yelled as we continue to rack them up like Gretzky racked up points in the late 80’s. I went over and grabbed the bait off the ground and prepared to cast it into the busy airport walkway again. The more people that reached for it, the greater the roar of laughter, and the more people we drew into watching this very amateur candid camera skit.
The prank is simple. A string, fishing line, or thread pulled out of the carpet attached to a dollar bill by a sliver of scotch tape. It usually has to be a three person gig. First, the runner is in charge of casting the bait into the hustle bustle of the airport terminal. Simply walking out and dropping the dollar amidst the crowd and then looping around inconspicuously. Often times a pause to check the time, a reach into a pocket or kneeling to tie a shoe provides the concealment and distraction for the drop.
The next position is the fisherman. He lies down behind some bags or chairs and is in charge of pulling the string, and subsequently the dollar away from the unknowing victim. The last position and arguably the most important is the spotter. The spotter sits next to the fisherman and looks for people who eye the bill and begin to alter their path so they might scoop up the buck without being seen by others.
“We got one here.” Cheeks (Eric Sefchik) whispers to Pierson, the fisherman, as Cheeks is thumbing through a local newspaper looking inconspicuous. The man is well dressed wheeling his luggage behind him and walking briskly towards his gate. His scarf is floating behind him due to his stretching stride. He veers left and moves his newspaper from his right hand and pins it under his left arm which tows his luggage. “He’s ready to bite.” Cheeks adds.
The man strides up, peeks over his shoulder, and then straight ahead. He stops in front and with a slight bend in his knees lowers his out stretched arm toward the cash. “Now,” Cheeks implores aided by a kick of his foot to Pierson’s side. The timing is perfect as his fingers get within inches before the bill takes flight and zips away. The man is frozen. Shocked for a second he realizes he is the victim of a prank. Staying bent at the waist he looks at the group of young men, all in uniform, bellowing with amusement. He laughed and walked on to his gate, surely to remember this jaunt through the terminal.
Harmless fun is not always without consequences. When the fish aren’t biting there is a tendency to improve the bait. Drew Pierson had the idea last year to up the ante when pedestrians were uninterested in a one dollar bill. “Let’s get it going! Put this on the line.” Drew demanded as he handed me a twenty.
“You sure about this Drew?” I asked in amazement. Sure enough he was adamant and we cast the twenty into the stream of pedestrians and sure enough the bites came furiously at first. Then we had a man fall for the pull but he persisted. He located the string and as the fisherman pulled furiously the man still chased. He lunged his foot out and clamped the line to the ground. Uh oh, I thought as the man had neutralized the cash. He calmly looked at the guys who quickly went from laughter to shock as he snatched the bill from the line and smiled.
“Good joke. Thanks for lunch later. See ya.” The man stated as he walked off with his friends laughing. We were all shocked. Pierson thought he was going to come back. He didn’t. That man got the best of us and rode off into the sunset like Clint Eastwood. All the guys chipped in a reimbursed Pierson but a valuable lesson was learned. When fooling around you should always be prepared for the consequences.
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