Being the high school class clown, graduating to prankster and practical jokester came natural. April Fools’ Day is a gimme.
Bright and early on April 1, I sent a text to my son, making up a whopper of a story that an official-looking letter for him had arrived at my house, and I had opened it by mistake. It was a traffic summons. He had been busted by one of those remote cameras.
Oh boy, he bought it hook-line-and-sinker. His blood boiled for about 10 seconds, he told me, before he realized it was a joke. He also told me a trick like that wasn’t fair first thing in the morning.
I love April Fools.
Next, I sent a text to my girlfriend, Ginnie. If you want to get ahold of someone, text them. Texts are always immediately checked. Not so with emails. For some reason, people, myself included, think texts are more important. Anyway, Ginnie and I had been planning a weekend getaway to Lake of the Ozarks for Easter weekend. My text message said that I wasn’t going, with no explanation.
There was a strange delay. I could feel the tension. Fearing I had stirred up a hornets nest, I contemplated admitting that it was an April Fools trick.
But a reply text came back.
“What?!”
“April Fools! Gotcha!”
It was probably a good thing we weren’t in the same room.
Checking out the news on April Fools’ Day, it appears there was a nationwide epidemic of practical jokes. Plugging into the selfie craze, Toyota claimed one of its new models came equipped with cameras in the dashboard for the taking of selfies while driving, hands-free of course. Then there was dog and cat selfies. A rod protruding from the dog or cat collar, equipped with a camera, allowed the animal to take its own selfie, bark or meow activated. The shoe selfie attracted a lot of attention. A square-toed stiletto could hold a smart phone. You could take a selfie by simply raising your foot. All spoofs, of course.
Tom Brady takes the grand prize. The superstar quarterback of the New England Patriots released a photo of himself in a full body cast. Fans worldwide gasped — for an instant. April Fools!
There was a message on my phone. It was an old friend with some 30 years of sobriety. His voice was groggy. He’d had a “slip” and needed help. Yeah, sure. Nice try. I returned the call. The phone rang and rang. No answer. I began to worry. This wasn’t good. I left a message, “What’s going on?” Half an hour later, my phone rang. It was my friend. He was in jail. His wife had left him. He needed help.
April Fools!
Now, that’s a dirty trick!
I hate paybacks.
Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com