The Red Fox Strikes Again

At some point, all gingers have been called "Red".  Recently, my nickname has become "The Red Fox".  Before any assumptions are made about this, let me explain.  I'm a prankster.  I have been my whole life and it was inevitable for me to turn out this way.  Growing up, I was constantly teased by both sides of my family.  I had to adapt in order to survive.

The first prank I can remember was pretty intense.
At about the age of 3, I was terrified of "the paper-face lady".  She was a mannequin dressed in a bathrobe with a towel on her head and wore a mask decorated with floral magazine clippings.  She stood in the display window of a bath products store and every time I'd go to the mall with my mom, aunt, and cousins, they would tease me because I was so scared of her.   One day, my biggest fear came true when I saw her staring at me through the sliding glass door of my home.  I'll never forget the horror I felt in that moment.  A shiver of fear ran through my tiny body.  I was crying in my mother's arms when she let the paper-face lady inside.  It turns out, it was just my aunt dressed up.  She came in, took off the costume, and let me hold the mask she had made.  Once I calmed down, I felt better and my fear of her was cured.

As I got older, I discovered how much I enjoyed pranking others and actually got pretty good at it.  To some people, this might seem mean spirited, but to me, it was an expression of creativity.  Prank calling became a standard activity for family gatherings.  I used to booby trap my sister's room and couldn't wait for her to come home and be entangled in thread across the doorway as water would dump on her head.  Don't worry, she got me back.

A few years ago, my husband told me our friend was having some issues with his insurance company and encouraged me to send him a prank text.   It said something like "This is "so and so" insurance company.  You have requested too many claims on your policy and you now owe $500.  Please make your payment as soon as possible."  Since he didn't have my number in his phone, he believed it.  He spent a few hours looking over his policy trying to find something to fight the payment.  When his wife came home, she said an insurance company probably wouldn't send a text and they realized something weird was going on.  He texted me back and the prank was revealed.  He was a good sport about it and gave me the nickname "red fox" because of my red hair and ability to be cunning and tricky.  From now on, whenever I get away with pranking someone we always say "The red fox strikes again!".  

This past weekend my husband and I were hanging out with these friends and they asked how to find my blog.  I said it's under my name since I haven't been able to think of anything clever to call it for the time being.  The friend I had pranked suggested I use his nickname and that's why I have changed the name of this blog.  I am The Red Fox.