April Fools

"This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four."   - Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar

April is the month Chaucer's pilgrims started on their medieval journey to Canterbury.  Having survived the cruelty of winter, they set out for the cathedral to give thanks.  This journey seemed to be a religious pilgrimage, but it was much more than that.  The pilgrims also left London for a springtime romp through the greening countryside.  They also got out of town for a good old holiday and a little spring foolishness.  To this day, we follow their fool's trail every spring.

April is one of the best months of the year for fools.  It even seems acceptable and trendy.  It is officially celebrated on April first.  We even toast the most creative of our 2011 fools.  This week I heard about some very clever attempts to break the winter ice in more ways than one.  One young man poured a little vegetable oil on his buddy's exhaust pipe.  This created a billowing cloud of smoke behind his car and heart-wrenching anxiety for a few minutes.  In addition, you really can't go wrong with the old trick of marbles in the hubcaps.  The horrible, grinding noise sounds just like an engine ripping apart.  You will have to admit that the look on your friend's face will be worth all the effort.  The ultimate office foolishness requires the most irresistible cookie known to man.  Oreo cookies are like respectable crack so no one can ever resist an Oreo.  So replacing the white filling with toothpaste is also classic. 

Why do we do it? Why do we go to such lengths for foolishness?  Perhaps life just gets too serious sometimes, and we long for a little relief.  Perhaps we hear far too much bad news.  Maybe we are sick of it all.  It is possible we long for the old days when we were free to play tricks on our friends and enjoy the tricks played on us.  In any case, we seem to need April after January, February, and March.