April 4, 2008
"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me," -- Old Chinese Proverb.
On April Fool's Day, I foolishly assumed that I would survive the day unscathed because the offspring who used to play the practical jokes around here have 'left the nest'.
Not to be. Grandson Halen came running across the yard to tell me there was a big red fox at the edge of the woods. Since he is young and presumably innocent, his was an absolutely believable story. Besides the fox usually appears around this time of year anyway. I wanted to believe him because I had not seen the fox this spring. He usually shows up by now, so off I went to the woods to look for myself.
Meanwhile, I hear giggles and a small voice from behind me yelling, "April Fool."
If the above story sounds familiar to you, it is. You may have heard it before, just like me.
I fell for the fox story last year; I fell for it again this year. I wrote about then; I am writing about it now.
You see, on the first day of April this year, our grandson telephoned early in the morning with the exciting news, "Grandma, the red fox is back. It is outside right now."
I ran to the window and asked him, "Where? Is it in the field to the north or did it run toward the creek?"
That is about the time he giggled and that is when I knew I fell for the joke once again.
His April Fool's hoax reminded me of this anonymous verse of my youth, "The first of April, some do say, is set apart for All Fool's Day. But why the people call it so, nor I, nor they themselves, do know. But on this day are people sent on purpose for pure merriment!"
Like my grandson.
His story about the red fox appearing on the first day of April causes me serious chagrin because I wrote about his clever ruse last year in this very column.
Obviously, I forgot.
If I write about it once more, I surmise, then maybe just maybe I will not fall for the grandson's chicanery again next year. Perhaps if I write a column about it two years in a row, then by the third year I will remember. Third time is charm, right?
Or, I just want to see if you will bite, too.
"The maple syrup's full of ants. A mouse is creeping on the shelf. Is that a spider on your back? I ate the whole pie by myself. The kitchen sink just overflowed. A flash flood washed away the school. I threw your blanket in the trash. I never lie--I--APRIL FOOL!"--Myra Cohn Livingston.
