I loathed this day when I was a child. There was no fun in having my name, April and therefore me, connected with 'fool'. No matter how hard I tried, how brave a face I began the day with, I always ended up feeling every bit a despicable fool.
Every year in primary school this day reduced me to tears which then evoked more teasing - "Cry baby!"
The only escape from this annual day of humiliation came when April 1st fell on the weekend and those even less frequent years when the date was eclipsed by Good Friday or Easter Monday.
I survived of course. I'm happy to report that except for the briefest of stings in my depths, gone is the great anxiety that used to accompany the day. Now when April Fools' Day comes around, a smile creases my face and my heart warms to thoughts of that most wonderful of Springtime delights - the spaghetti harvest.
The BBC meticulously covered the harvest in the Ticino region of southern Switzerland and presented it to viewers on this day in 1957. Click here for the link.
Following the broadcast, the network was flooded with inquiries about where one might find spaghetti seeds, cuttings, and bushes. Some folks were quite irate to discover that they had been pranked by none other than the BBC.
I recall watching the clip with my folks and my Dad becoming almost apoplectic with laughter. For years afterward, there were frequent references in our house to spaghetti trees always accompanied by great chortling. God bless the BBC!
Another harvest of delight blossoms up from my memory garden...April Fools Day 1965. At the supper table that night my younger sister, a chirpy five-year-old, regaled the family with jokes half-remembered from her kindergarten class. Grinning from ear to ear, eager anticipation bouncing through her body, she asked, "When is Cathy Fools' Day?"
There was silence for a moment before barely concealed snorts of derision erupted around the table. Her little face went blank then a giggle emerged, but only because we were laughing.
I recall Mom was the exception to the laughter. A smile creased her face but it was quickly covered by a paper napkin into which she coughed. Composure regained, she put her hand on Cathy's, "You know dear, April Fool's Day is not about your sister at all."
All the gentleness and sincerity was lost on Cathy. Seriously, how could it not be about her sister April? No amount of explanation satisfied the little one. And so it came to pass that the First Monday in May 1965 was proclaimed "Cathy Fools' Day" by Mom's authority. Cathy skipped off to school that day full of tricks, homemade jokes - as only a five-year-old can make them - and a note from Mom explaining the holiday.
Giggles trump tears.
Happy memories soothe bruises.
Love conquers all.
I'm heading out in the snow to check on my spaghetti trees...
©2019 April Hoeller
Moms always so smart...
ReplyDeleteHappy April!