As a competition junkie, it was refreshing to meet another in the form of a first-year history teacher from Nebraska by the name of Nolan Shigley. My high school English class was next to his and since we taught many of the same students, our friendship quickly developed and blossomed.

To keep the kids interested in our classes, we devised a series of planned practical jokes, all intended to arouse good clean fun. I began the repartee on a …