LEDGER COLUMNIST

They finally did it.

They got me and got me good.

For years I've written columns detailing the antics of my wife and friends. It was all in good fun, of course, but occasionally the subjects of these columns didn't quite see the humor.

"We'll get you. Just wait," they'd say.

"Sure you will," I'd reply smugly, confident that I'd always prevail in any 'gotcha' match they could come up with.

After all, I am the one who buys ink by the barrel and prints papers by the thousands.

Pam Lester thought she had with the Halloween prank of dressing up as my lookalike, but clever me, I turned that around on her and made a successful promotion out of that feeble attempt to 'get me.'

However, the week before Thanksgiving, Pam, Teecy Littlejohn and my wife Sherry finally pulled it off. We annually take a fall golf trip to the beach with the Peck Lester's, Stan Littlejohn's and Bryan Hughey's. While the guys play golf, the girls shop.

Upon our return each day from the course and stores, we gather to discuss the highlights (and lowlights) of our day.

During one such gathering, my wife sat particularly close to me and kept turning to face me as the discussion turned to what the girls had purchased that day.

After much twisting and turning by my wife, and some heavy hinting by ALL the girls I finally noticed the bright shiny bauble around Sherry's neck.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked. THAT was a BIG diamond necklace.

Then the setup began in earnest.

"Isn't it gorgeous," one of the girls said.

"We all wanted to buy it, but they only had one," said another.

"I wish I had seen it first," another said.

On and on they went about how beautiful it was and what a deal Sherry got.

I could feel my face getting redder by the second.

"How good of a deal did you get?" I asked her.

She dodged my inquiry and her band of conspirators kept at it.

Now, anyone who knows me or has read this column with any regularity knows how tight I am when it comes to spending money on unnecessary items like say... DIAMOND NECKLACES.

Besides, I had not played very good golf that day and was already in a somewhat of a foul mood.

While the other girls continued chatting it up about how beautiful Sherry's necklace was and how they'd have bought it if she hadn't, I could see looks of relief in their husbands faces.

"How much was it?" I repeatedly asked Sherry.

Finally she mouthed "Three thousand."

"THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS!" I blurted almost hysterically.

'"That's a real deal," one of the others said. "Well then, you can have it," I told her Her husband quickly spoke up. "No she can't."

As I looked around the room, I saw no other takers.

Now, I knew deep in the recesses of my brain that Sherry would never spend that kind of money on a necklace, especially with out consulting with me first, but I could picture her and her three shopping buddies in the store after maybe having a glass of wine or two.

Ooohing and ahhing. Ahhing and ooohing.

"I can take it back," she finally said.

"What time does the store open?" I asked without hesitation.

By now, they were beginning to giggle and whisper amongst one another.

"It's not real," Sherry finally confessed. "It's cubic zirconium."

While relieved, I was still angry. You tell me what's worse — spending $3,000 on a diamond necklace or tricking your husband into thinking you did?

I'm OK now and can take a joke. They got me. Just remember girls, he who laughs last, laughs best.