I’ve been serious in every blog so far – time to loosen it up a little and this is definitely a call to action.  There are tons of hysterical stories out there in an industry loaded with practical jokers.  I’m willing to lead off with the first story, but I’m counting on some of you to become Guest Bloggers with a return volley…

Tony Corbell and I were on the road in Phoenix years ago.  Monte Zucker and Al Gilbert were doing the first city on the Legends Tour and we needed to be there to represent Hasselblad that night.  We had the usual vendor table and easily $100,000 of Hasselblad gear, including some great exotic lenses.

Tony was the first Dean of Hasselblad University and wanted to shoot some new images for future programs.  So, we hired a model and spent the day shooting around Phoenix.  End of the day we returned to the hotel to get ready for the evening program.  We each headed to our rooms with the plan to meet back at the car fifteen minutes later in our “school clothes” and then head over to the hotel for the Legends program.

Well, I got to the car first, only to notice that Tony, when locking up the car left the window down.  The car had a remote switch to open the trunk in the glove compartment – we’d left all that Hasselblad gear essentially unsecured!  What can I say? The devil made me do it and the next moves involved popping the trunk and leaving one door open so the car looked like it had been broken into.

Tony was running a few minutes late, giving me plenty of time to hide behind a tree and just wait and watch.  The look on his face was total panic.  It was like watching the mercury on a thermometer fall as the blood drained out of his face…just when it was about to his chest and one step ahead of a coronary, I stepped out and said “Gotcha!”  His face was the color of a porcelin doll, but within seconds the color returned and I knew he’d live, but would I?    Tony barely spoke to me for the rest of the night!

As my daughter put it best, “Dad, you finally pulled a joke on somebody who has what it takes to get even!”  For the next three years I refused to answer the doorbell!

So, I showed you one of mine – who’s got one to contribute?   And keep them PG rated if you can!