First mate's log:
October 26, 1972
Bobby Brady told me about a prank that he and his brothers played on their sisters last night. They thought about saving it for Halloween, on Tuesday, but they figured the girls would be too suspicious then. They used a slide projector, a rocking chair, and a rope to make the girls think there was a ghost in the attic. I know, the house isn't even that old, but Jan and Cindy got real scared. I might've felt sorry for the girls, but I'm still annoyed with them for tricking Sam into almost fighting with the Skipper. But I agreed not to say anything to them about that trick, so I can't say that I'm annoyed, and I tried to be polite to them at Family Night Frolics last week.
Anyway, Marcia slept through the prank, but Bobby is happy that two of his sisters fell for it. And, no, I'm not going to tell Jan and Cindy about this either.
Carol Brady's diary:
October 28, 1972
I'd hoped that the children had outgrown playing tricks on each other, especially after the ones at Marcia's slumber party a couple years ago. But Wednesday night the boys made Jan and Cindy think there was a ghost in the attic. Marcia was asleep, and more skeptical anyway. So she must've figured it out, since she and her sisters bet their brothers that they couldn't sleep in the attic all night, last night. It was the girls' allowances against the boys' allowances.
I know, Mike and I should've put a stop to it, but it seemed harmless enough. Yes, it was a school night, but I had the feeling the boys would be safe in their own beds by midnight. Peter and Bobby didn't even last an hour!
The boys used a slide projector and the rocking chair, controlled from their room. The girls made a cellophane ghost and used the tape-recorder. I like having talented children, but I prefer when they use their talents more constructively.
In any case, Mike and I have forbidden the kids to scare each other any further. I know, Halloween is around the corner, but it's not here yet, and I don't want anyone losing any more sleep.
Meanwhile, I've fired Mike's head in the kiln. (Yes, he joked about Mr. Howell firing all of him if he showed up late to their meeting this morning.) The bust looks really good, if I do say so myself. Mike is going to the prize ceremony with me, over on Blenford. I have a funny feeling about leaving the house, especially since Alice has a date to the dive-in. But we have to trust that Greg and Marcia will be mature babysitters as usual.
October 30, 1972
Well, the girls got their revenge on the boys, but then they teamed up against Alice, and things went bad, though not as bad as they could've I guess. The girls made a bet about the boys sleeping in the attic all night, and the boys didn't know that the girls had figured out the boys' prank and had a prank planned of their own. So the boys lost the bet, and a week's worth of allowance.
Their parents made them promise not to scare each other anymore. But, when Alice said she's not scared of anything (which doesn't sound like the Alice I know, but she was probably trying to act brave), they decided to try to scare her. Greg, who seems like he'll grow up to be a lawyer, pointed out to me that they never promised not to scare Alice.
She had a Friday night date with Sam at the dive-in, which is more romantic than a school talent show of course. Mr. and Mrs. Brady would be over on Blenford, because she was in an art contest, with a sculpture of her husband's head. They were expected back about an hour after Alice, and they figured Alice wouldn't fink on them, since she was the one boasting she wasn't even scared of werewolves.
(No, they didn't tell me about this ahead of a time, so I didn't have to worry about whether I should've said something to Alice, or to the kids' parents.)
The kids went all out this time. They made a new ghost, out of a sheet, and they used the tape-recorder more. Also, they played with the lights, including making it look like a fuse blew out.
Unfortunately, their parents came back first, with the sculpture. He set down the sculpture on that divider between the entryway and the living room, and then they went to check the fuse box in the laundry room. Alice got home and saw the back of a mysterious head in the dark. And when it didn't answer her panicked questions, she hit it with her purse!
The statue was ruined, although Bobby and Cindy did try to fix it later. All the kids got their allowance taken away for two weeks, and I do feel sorry for them, but I feel sorriest for Mrs. Brady. Bobby said it was a really neat sculpture and it looked just like his father. "Especially when Dad is mad at us."
I said it was too bad they didn't save all these pranks for the trick-or-treaters on Halloween. The Brady kids don't get to celebrate Halloween this year, as part of their punishment. As a kid, that would've made me sadder and madder than losing three weeks of my allowance, but Bobby loves money. (He'll probably grow up to be a banker. Or a bank-robber.)
November 1, 1972
I was too upset to write over the weekend, although I'm feeling better now. The kids tried to scare Alice Friday night and succeeded so well she accidentally broke the bust! She feels terribly guilty, but it was the kids' fault of course. I won third prize and I'd been so proud. This is the opposite feeling to what I had after Family Night Frolics. Our children can be so wonderful, and so terrible, all in the same month.
Mike and I punished them but it doesn't undo what they did. However, I'm not letting this discourage me from making more art. And Alice's guilt has made her agree to pose for my next piece: as a water nymph in classical robes, her hair in ringlets, a vase on her shoulder. The vase was an earlier project of mine. As for the robes, well, the kids used one of my good sheets to make a ghost, so I'm putting it to this use, since the holes don't matter over her uniform.
It won't be a full-sized statue, just a couple of feet tall. I'm thinking of making it into a birdbath for the backyard. There are so many lovely birds on our island, tropical and otherwise. Yes, maybe I should take up bird-watching next, as a safer hobby for everyone.