wacky wednesday - for the person who has everything

My sweet hubby and I went to the same high school and had many of the same friends. Our group was kind of an eclectic mix of people - band nerds, science club nerds, Boy/Girl Scouts or not, those who had part-time jobs and those who didn't, those who got straight A's without much effort and those who had to really work at getting good grades. But the thing that tied us all together was our love of fun and a good practical joke was golden!

We remained friends through college although we got together less frequently as jobs and school dictated our lives more and more. Several of the guys liked to go mineral hunting and on one of their mineral expeditions they found a "sculpture" in the desert. They gave it to the next guy in the group to have a birthday and it was passed around from birthday to birthday as a gag gift throughout college.

After graduating from college, as often happens, we drifted a little farther apart. Work and families now took most of our time and some years all we did was exchange Christmas cards. The silly "sculpture" still made the rounds although it would sometimes stay with a recipient for a year or so rather than a few months before moving on.

Then, as we approached our 40's, we made more of an effort to stay in touch. We'd get together for one big birthday bash for everyone or make sure we all went to a high school reunion. Email, and eventually FaceBook, made this easier to plan and implement. But the passing of the "statue" had more or less ended. The guy who had it moved out of state. And besides, weren't we getting a little old for such a silly thing?

This year all the guys turn 60 and I was anticipating a get-together sometime this year. What I didn't expect was this sitting on our doorstep when we got back from church Sunday morning:

If nothing else, it was a magnificently original wrapping job using two different boxes, red and gold sparkly spray paint and yards and yards of duct tape. It had a card and a sign taped to the side.

My hubby's 60th birthday is this week so it was clearly for him but who is S.P.O.B.?? We scratched our heads. And wrinkled our brow. But nothing was coming to us. So we moved on to the card.

Once he saw who the card was from (thank you, Helen & Dave!), he knew exactly what it was. And then began laughing so hard tears leaked out of his eyes.

It was Bacilla (aka the "statue"), a glob of melted, white plastic containers of some kind that stands  about 30-inches high. The propellor was added later - it's not too hard to believe that several of the guys are engineers of one kind or another!

So where was Bacilla for the past two decades? The guy who had it last moved it out of state when he moved. And then moved it back to Arizona when he returned years later. He passed it on and that guy kept it about five years before passing it on to the next guy, Bill, who then moved to California. Bill brought it back to Arizona last weekend and passed it on to my hubby.

And what does S.P.O.B. stand for? The Society For The Preservation Of Bacilla. Bill made up the name when he made the sign so it's no wonder we couldn't figure it out!

Two things about this story make me laugh. First, not one but TWO people moved this discarded blob of melted plastic out of state and then brought it back again. Clearly, it has great sentimental value as well as being whimsical yard art. And second, four decades later these guys still love a great practical joke among good friends.

A friend loves at all times.   Proverbs 17:17