TED WILSON REVIEWS THE WORLD: APRIL FOOL’S DAY

★★★★☆

Hello, and welcome to my week-by-week review of the world. Today I am reviewing April Fool’s Day.

Today is April Fool’s Day — the day when people play pranks on those who don’t expect to be pranked on a day known for being pranked.

As far as I know, no one has ever been able to play a prank on me because either I am actually so gullible that even if they say it was a prank I don’t believe them or because I know it’s a prank immediately. Like the time my family dog pretended to “die” and he just laid there under the porch for several days and we left for Summer vacation and when we came back two months later he’d replaced himself with a dog skeleton. Ha ha.

The best April Fool’s Day prank I ever played was on my mom who believed in ghosts and I told her there was a ghost in my closet and she got so scared she moved us to a new town. I did that several years in a row until she stopped believing me, which was coincidentally the same year there was an escaped convict living in my closet and I just had to deal with it because she was tired of my games.

The worst April Fool’s Day prank I ever played was when I told my neighbor she had won the Publisher’s Clearing House lottery and the prize had been delivered to me by accident. She was so excited she fell to her knees and started crying. On the inside I was laughing, but on the outside I was also crying because it turned out she really needed that money to pay her medical bills and I knew I was going to have to cough it up or admit what I’d done. So I said “wait here,” I hopped in my car, drove to the bank, and withdrew $30,000.00 in cash. I told my neighbor that’s how it arrived. It turns out the joke was on me because the next day she had a new car.

I’m not sure if April Fool’s Day is celebrated around the world or only in America. I’ve never been out of the country on April 1st. In fact, now that I think about it, I’ve never been out of town on April 1st. It may just be a local holiday.

Regardless, people seem to mostly enjoy it. Even the people who end up looking like idiots. It’s a day that crosses all religious boundaries except for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because one of them told me laughing is a sin. That’s why I didn’t join. I love to laugh!

Even though my wife’s death took place years ago and didn’t happen on April 1st, I’m still hoping it was an April Fool’s Day prank. Only time will tell.

BEST FEATURE: Smiles and laughter everywhere you look!
WORST FEATURE: Sometimes pranks go too far and secrets are born.

Please join me next week when I’ll be reviewing a Cabbage Patch Doll named Charles.