celebrate March 32nd! er, um, April Fool!

13 Baha 165 B.E. (Baha’i Calendar)
Soundtrack in my head:  The Ditty Bops, “Walk or Ride”

I’ve always strongly believed that Wisconsinites have a better sense of humor than most of the nation, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that April Fool pranks are celebrated with a remarkable degree of reverence.  Or irreverence, as it were.  In any case, I would submit that it is celebrated here at least as much as Flag Day.  I think.

I was the recipient of one little joke today.  I had difficulty removing the cap from a pen that had been left on my desk.  When I finally did, I discovered that there was this glazed, sticky looking substance underneath.  I sniffed it, and realized it was Super Glue.  It took me a long time to realize that it was a prank until the pranksters revealed themselves.  Another person was given a phone message from a Mr. Lion.  He was told that the caller was reportedly mean.  

One co-worker is always the recipient of a bunch of pranks.  Today, she arrived at work to find her telephone wrapped in rubber bands.  Someone also figured out that the volume dial on her desk radio was separate from the on-off switch, so they ended up turning the volume to the maximum level—ultimately scaring the daylights out of her and everyone in a ten-foot radius, with the noise heard all the way from the elevators on the other side of the floor.  In previous years, pranks included having a “For Sale” sign put on her car,(resulting in one serious inquiry), and having each frog in her extensive desktop frog collection individually wrapped in cellophane.  

In one co-op, a fire inspector paid a routine visit, and said everything was fine.  However, one of the residents decided to write on the communal whiteboard that their cluttered basement had been declared a fire hazard and that the house had 72 hours to clear it out.  It reportedly caused a bit of a tizzy there.  

One local radio station collaborated with Madison’s mayor in an April Fool prank in which they announced a proposal to ban the sale of all compact discs in Madison, based on the concern that the holes in the discarded discs were just large enough to fit around a seagull’s beak, preventing them from being able to feed themselves.  The radio station provided an online petition that people could sign, and it was there that people were informed of the joke.  

But, in all seriousness, I wanted to take this time to make an important announcement.  As many of you know, my initial purpose in starting this blog was to write about the spiritual path of Mahikari and also about co-op living.  Then, in October of last year, I announced that I was leaving Mahikari, and that was followed shortly by my joining the Baha’i Faith.  

Things are shifting again.  I would now like to take this time to announce that I have decided to leave the co-op where I live. I have had enough of co-op life.  I have decided to heed the call of the wild and move to a subdivision in South Elgin, IL.  It’s a sweet deal—with this purchase I also gain title to a bridge over the Fox River…