April 2008

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I told this story before, in 2003. I've been thinking about it today, and decided it deserved a rerun, with some minor editing.

It seems that my maternal grandparents had a telephone with a ring tone that was extremely similar to that of their alarm clock. Every year on April Fool's Day, my grandfather would sneak around and set the clock several times during the day, answer the non-existent call himself, then tell her the call was for her.

Now I don't really think my grandmother was a stupid woman. In fact, I'm pretty sure she saw through the prank the second time the first year he did it. But apparently she decided it was fun, too, and that it was harmless to let him think he was fooling her. She didn't complain.

Nor do I think my grandfather was mean in playing the prank. Life for them had its hard times, and I suspect he was trying to inject some levity where he could. I'm also pretty sure he knew my grandmother was onto the joke; I don't think he thought she was stupid, either.

That story tells me a lot about the relationship they must have had---the silliness, the traditions, and the love. It's my very favorite April Fool's story. And apparently it was one of my mother's favorites, too...she always enjoyed telling it to people new to the family, to give them a glimpse into the prior generation.

And thinking about the long-ago prank still makes me smile.