Everyone who knows me, also knows that I hate this day.
With a screaming passion.
This is due to the fact that some of the most asinine jokes have often been played on me. Some of which caused huge amounts of stress. One time, a landlord decided it would be hilarious to give everyone in an apartment block (a small building with 12 rental units) an eviction notice. That is until one of the tenants had a heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital. Another time, many years ago, someone thought it would be great to steal my car. That is until I phoned the police.
The safest prank ever played on me was when one of my co-workers at a radio station actually typed up a fake news report that Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Ottawa Senators. I’m a big Sens fan. When I heard the laughing I realized what day it was. That’s a good joke. No one is stressed, there’s no property damage, there’s nothing stolen. Just a little joke that everyone had a good laugh over.
Another time when I was working in radio, I recall a news release that came across the wire that took hold across the country. The story came from a Hamilton news room, and stated that Ernie Coombs, the man who played Mr. Dressup on the CBC Children’s television program of the same name, went nuts on camera, pulled a gun and shot Casie and Finnigan then turned it on himself. Early in the morning, people went nuts (because at this time, Mr. Dressup was a common place in Canadian house holds). CBC also went nuts, and rightly so. Because the radio station in Hamilton forgot to slug the story with an April Fool’s Day warning.
So while there’s the chance to have good fun, there’s also the chance where someone could get hurt. If you’re going about your day, be careful. And if you’re planning on pranking someone, don’t be an asshole. There’s a difference between a good joke and one that’ll cause huge amounts of stress. If you know a friend or co-worker does suffer from stress, maybe don’t go ahead with the joke.
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