04/01/2026
I was a victim of a prank by one of the greatest pranksters ever to live. "Porky" Bickar, who on April Fool's Day in 1974, pranked the city of Sitka in Alaska by helicoptering and igniting 70 tires to make a black plume emerge from Mt. Edgecumbe, the dormant volcano looking over the town. I had a few interactions with Porky when I lived in Sitka in the 90s, but he pulled the volcano stunt when I was just under 2 months old and more than 2,500 miles away. The prank he did that got me, involved a tree that was in a remote stretch along the Alaska Ferry route. The ferry captain announced that we should all look to the port side as we passed a tree used for flamingos to nest -- the only spot like this in Alaska. I caught a glimpse of the pink in the tree on that side of the boat and with my 200mm telephoto lens captured a shot before I realized that the tree was just peppered with plastic flamingo yard decorations. Good one, Porky! You got me. I probably still have that negative and maybe a print photo in a box somewhere from that roll of 35mm film.
