Guys,
My mom of blessed memory had a wicked sense of humour. She and her best friend since childhood, Mrs. Jean Goldstein.
Aunty Jean, when she lived with her family in a Toronto house with a small front lawn bisected by a path, would get up at 03:00am, on a snowy Jan. morning, and plunk 50 silk & plastic daffoldils along the path, and put a flowering Magnolia tree, also plastic with silk leaves and flowers on the front lawn.
She would go back to sleep and then get up at 07:00-09:00, to watch peoples' reactions!
Inspired by that, I once pulled a funny stunt.
While strolling with a cousin, my late parents, Mr. & Mrs. Goldstein, and a late uncle and aunt in Chinatown, after we'd shared a Chinese meal, we came upon a Chinese shop selling 100 plastic pink flamingos, which are a big seller in the Italian part of Toronto.
The man wanted to get rid of them, and was selling them at CAD$0.50 each. I asked how much if I bought the lot; he replied CAD$30.
My mom & Aunty Jean asked what I wanted with 100 plastic pink flamingos.
I bought them, and got a receipt saying I'd bought the 100.
I then told them that Myron [my cousin] and I were going to wait till the people had gone to sleep in the Italian area [by 01:30am the place is totally empty] and wherever we found a plastic pink flamingo or 2, we were going to add another 2 or 3!
They thought it was hilarious, we went out for cake and coffee, and at 01:30am, went around the area of Dufferin between Lawrence and Bloor, plunking down plastic pink flamingos in every yard where we'd found some already in situ.
It was going great, till a young RCMP officer of Italian Canadian origin, drove up, and thought we were stealing them! I showed him the receipt, he counted that I had less than 30 left out of 100 in the trunk [boot], and couldn't stop laughing! He helped us plant the last 27 or so, and promised to let me know what the local Italian-language papers said about it.
He brought over the papers, and translated them for me; and we ended up dating for a month [till I returned to Israel].
My mom and Aunty Jean thought it was even better than the Daffodils and Flowering Magnolia stunt...
Best to all,
Joey
