Mornings are rough, especially the ones that require chauffeuring a middle schooler before sunrise. However, on the April 5, 2024 aka Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers, I was tasked with a difficult mission that I was willing to accept.
Mojo in the Morning, the local radio show on Channel 955, had been dangling the promise of free tickets to Opening Day all week. My hope was low; after all, my speed dial to their show had seen plenty of action before. I would always get the same disappointing results, today however, felt different. My cell phone was unlocked and loaded.
Cue the moment of truth! The announcement was about to happen, and my fingers hovered over the call button. Prepared for rapid-fire dialing the second Mojo gave the go-ahead. Nothing about what happened next fit the usual “be caller number 9 and instantly win” script.
Anyone who knows Mojo in the Morning understands the typical drill to text or call in and hope to be the lucky number. Mojo and his team had other ideas for the special day. These plans included an unknowingly participating participant in a minor act of workplace deception.
Ring, ring, ring… “Mojo in the Morning, may I ask who’s calling?” A voice on the other end! A real, live person instead of the usual “your call has been forwarded to voicemail.” I gave my name and answered their brief questions, none of which hinted at the absolute chaos about to unfold. Mojo himself broke the news, revealing the unexpected twist: winning these tickets required one tiny, or so he claimed, task of calling my boss and faking a traffic disaster. The stakes were set and the performance of a lifetime was about to begin.
Call after call went unanswered until Rena, the Adviser of The Schoolcraft Connection newspaper, still blissfully unaware that her early morning was about to take a turn. I was hoping that she wasn’t asleep. Perhaps fate had other plans. Finally, I got the answer I was dreaming of.
“Stuck in traffic” was the story, and the radio show wasted no time making it as dramatic as possible. Cue sirens and noises of angry drivers. Subtle? No. Not with my luck! The chances of Rena believing this were slim to none, and I am by no means making it any more believable.
Nevertheless, miraculously, she played along. Every second stretched the limits of believability, the prank was an absolute disaster. Then, for the grand finale, Mojo took it up a notch, pretending to be a police officer declaring the traffic jam would take hours to clear and that there is simply no way I’d arrive on time to work, if at all.
Meanwhile, listeners flooded the station with texts claiming what an absolute trainwreck of a prank was unfolding. Holding in laughter became a losing battle for myself and my poor boss, who was massively confused. After another minute or so, Mojo and his team gave up and announced to Rena that this was all a prank. An announcement that absolutely no one needed, given the circumstances. However, it was necessary as they were about to ask her if I could have the day off to attend the big game.
In the beginning, the goal was simple: be the lucky caller. No one signed up for this, but in the end. It was hilarious and very worth it because those tickets were secured.
