In the next chapter of my dastardly prank series, I visited a small town in central Oklahoma. The objective? Change the name of their biggest road and see who notices!
When my crew and I arrived in Gershwin, OK, we spent a few hours driving around getting the lay of the land and mapping out all the street signs we would need to change. I even dared to visit the local grocery store to show my face! The shop was run by an elderly gentleman who told me he opened the shop in 1947 after coming back home from the war in Europe. He told me he plans to have his grandson take over the store soon since three of his four kids moved out of state. He said his son that stayed in Oklahoma is based in Oklahoma City (about a 45 minute drive) but they’ve agreed giving his grandson an opportunity to make his own way is the kick in the butt he needs to make something of his life. He started to tear up thinking of the granddaughter, the grandson’s sister, that they lost five years ago to an opioid overdose.
WHAT A SUCKER THIS GUY WAS! He didn’t even know what I was about to get up to and how I was going to turn this town on its head in a mere two days time!
The next day we went to the town hall building to see the mayor or whatever name they called them here. When we got to see the mayor, she introduced herself as Mary Tinsel and jokingly said her family’s profession was “Township Chief”. She told us that her family had been part of the town’s politics since its inception in 1853. She said a family member has held the Township Chief position for the last five decades, and she was naturally next in line. She told us how the city has fallen on hard times and that food security was a real issue for residents. She has been working hard to get funding from the Oklahoma State Congress, but always seems to fall just short when other larger cities add their own addendums to funding bills, which ultimately dooms it in the fiscally conservative Congress.
OH MY GOD THIS WAS GOING TO BE SO EASY TO DUPE THESE IDIOTS! I asked her if they’ve renamed any roads recently, almost begging to be found out! She told us that the residents frequently add roads leading to their properties and that the naming of the largest road was actually a hot topic since it was named after a Civil War general who’s recently come under fire for potential war crimes in the 1860s.
THIS WAS GOING TO BE SO EASY! We left after that and started planning our prank. We secured the street signs that matched the town’s design and coordinated our plans. That night at 1 AM, we synchronized watches and headed out in two cars. My car was going to hit the east side of town, the other car the West.
When we finished our task around 3 AM, we headed back to our Air BnB and restlessly slept, looking forward to the screams of terror as the townsfolk awoke to their precious street renamed after me!!!
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Updates
8:03 AM - It seems we miscalculated…
8:05 AM - Like a lot a lot.
8:10 AM - The townsfolk are actually thanking us.
8:25 AM - This sucks. Worst prank ever.
9:13 AM - Even though they’re not loving the possessiveness of “Main’s Street”, they’re still grateful that this solved their three month feud over changing the street’s name. They think it’s charming.
10:46 AM - I’m quitting pranks. I hate people.
12:39 PM - They’re giving us an honorary key to the city, so I’d say mission accomplished! You’ve been officially PRANK'D Gershwin, OK!
