The Mischievous Adventures of Joe Costa: Part 3

Grandma Mim and Grandpa Joe's Wedding Day February 28, 1951

These are the last stories my mom shared with me during our interview about my Grandpa Joe.  My mom said my Grandma Mim was 15 when she married Grandpa Joe (who was 19), so she grew up hearing these stories too.  When they were in their 60's a friend of my Grandpa's, who he hadn't seen in years and who was a part of many of these pranks, came to visit.  The friend started telling the same stories my Grandpa always did so my Grandma said "I guess those stories really are true."

The Soaping Incident

The next victim was a large burly truck driver who my Grandpa didn't like.  My mom doesn't remember why this guy was a target, but she said he wouldn't do this to someone unless he thought they deserved it.  One night, the man caught Grandpa Joe soaping his windows.  He shoved him around and made my Grandpa use cold water to clean the soap off in freezing weather.

After a while, to get him back, Grandpa Joe let the air out of the guy's truck tires.  The next day, he went to school and the man showed up asking the teacher for Joe Costa.  Thankfully, she wouldn't let the man take my Grandpa, saying he was on her watch and she had to protect him.  Back then, if you had a flat tire, you'd have to jack up the car, remove the tires, and take them somewhere to have the air put back in.  The guy ended up losing a day's work and Grandpa Joe got away with it.

The Rolling Drums

The town in Ohio where my Grandpa lived was near a big hill.  Grandpa Joe and his friends would fill a few 55 gallon drums with old paint cans, seal them up, and carry them to the top of the hill.  They would wait until dark and then roll the first one down.  They'd laugh as all the porch lights came on and people would come outside to see what was going on.  Then, they would wait for another hour or two and send the next one down. This continued through the night.

The Outhouse Snake

One of my Grandpa's jobs at his school was to get there early and build a fire in a coal stove to heat the schoolhouse.   One day, him and his friends got a dead snake and decided to use it to prank the girls.  The girl's outhouse had three holes, so they stretched the snake across them.  When the first bell rang for a break, all the girls rushed to the outhouse.  It didn't take long before they all ran out screaming.

The Night Crawler

There was a prissy girl in my Grandpa's class who had perfect hair, immaculate clothing, and everything was ironed, including her lunch bag.  My Grandpa and other boys in the class took a big fat night crawler and smashed it into the girl's school book on the page for the next day's lesson.  They watched as she struggled with the page, even licking her finger to try to get it open.  When she saw the worm, she ran outside and threw up.

I understand the things my Grandpa did in these stories were mean spirited.  I just want to point out I'm not trying to glorify them. I just don't want them to be forgotten because they have been passed through my family.  My Grandpa was a young kid when he did these things and when he grew up, he was a different man.  He loved his wife, my Grandma, and their five children dearly.  He loved me, my sister, and our cousins and now he's in heaven with Jesus.  The point of him sharing these with us was to entertain and there was always a moral at the end.  He would say "Make friends with your neighbors" because he knew what people are capable of if you get on their bad side.

The Costa Family 1997