April fools Day- A tribute to my father

My father has many qualities which I adore. But his silly side is probably what will be most remembered. You would think it would have taught me to be less gullible and less taken by surprises but I think it has only made me more appreciative of a good joke and an even better target.  If you've ever had a practical joker for a father, I know how you feel:)

Under my fathers' instruction, I went out to the meat freezer to get a steak. Imagine my surprise when I open the door and there was a coiled rattlesnake ready to strike! I screamed of course, shut the door and ran to tell my father, only then realizing it was just a joke. I went back out to the freezer and sure enough, the frost bitten thing was dead. It sure was fun having our guests go "grab a steak" after that:)

I was the luckiest girl in the world, my father presented me with a white cardboard jewelry box. He held it carefully in his palm as I open the lid and lifted the cotton fluff off the top to reveal... a bloody finger that squirmed inside the box! (Of course I realized momentarily that it was just catchup and the finger was still attached to his hand as he chased me around wiggling it into my face but it was still quite startling.)

I got a small yellow envelope in the mail and boy did I feel lucky. I never got mail. There was no return address, that should've been my first clue. When I opened the envelope- the sound of a larger than life rattlesnake tail caught me by surprise and I threw the package into the air and ran. Upon observing the contents of the package, a rubber band and a rigged paperclip never seemed so imaginative.

And who could forget this one-The electric pen that zaps you when you click the pen top- I don't know how many times I fell for this one.

The book that was hollowed out and rigged with pop out surprises---I still can't believe I fell for that one. I was nearly an adult.

After that, I became less gullible on April Fools day, but any other day of the year, I make an excellent candidate for a practical joke