Words Of Humor, Words Of Hurt

With the invention of "caller id" and the extinction of the pay phone, it looks like the art of the prank phone call has joined the ranks of the "remember when" group.

Making prank phone calls was a happy part of my youth. I wasn't very good at it, but a kid in our neighborhood was. At age twelve, his voice had already changed, so when he called some unsuspecting poor soul under the identity of a radio show giving away a color television, we not only laughed at that moment, but were also entertained every time the subject came up.

I used to like to go to the phone book and pick out a name at random and then call that person and act like I was a long lost friend. The conversation usually ended with me hanging up to cover up the fact that I was about ready to laugh.

My brother liked to call the pizza restaurants and ask them for a list of toppings and then order a pizza with a topping they didn't have - like dog food.

Like anything, though, good fun can get out of control - and when that happens, well, anything can happen.

For us boys under the age of thirteen, what started out as harmless fun would often turn into something hurtful under the pretense of trying to be funny - like the time we called up an elderly woman and told her that we were going to rob her house.

Prank phone calls are a thing of the past, but words still tend to get out of control. Then and now, people of every age say and do stupid things. Unfortunately, many people are too old to blame it on youth.