My Last Post for this Blog...JK! April Fools!

Biblical Proportions: And an edict went out on that day: "We will change the calendar so that the first day of the year will now be in January, rather than having festivals celebrating this annual rite later March through early April...anyone caught celebrating on any day other than January 1st, where the Big Ball will drop in Times Square will be deemed a FOOL!" Well, Pope  Gregory XIII said something of the sort back in 1582, when he and a few papal pals collectively brought about the change from the Julian calendar (in my mind he had something against a dude back then of the same name and, given his papal authority...perhaps I'm being a bit foolish here...). Some other historians attribute acts of foolishness back even farther, to the time of Genesis and another biblical figure--namely Noah, who allegedly made the mistake of letting a dove out of the ark before the floods subsided on or about April 1st (did he have a calendar aboard?)...

Suffering Fools: Yet another biblical reference, this from Saint Paul, in his second letter to the Church at Corinth, exhorts us, "For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise", updated "You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!" A matter of debate whether St. Paul was being a bit 'snarky', sarcastic (as he could be from time to time), sincere, OR a mixture of both. At least it gets us to thinking, which so many enigmatic verses seem designed to accomplish...In a practical context, in my office on almost a daily basis I utilize this on people who are feeling angsty due to dealing with others who just don't 'get it' -- there are fools abound aren't there? We can either cope with humor and grace or allow ourselves to be consumed, to 'suffer' even more. AND, if we spend too much time and energy in so doing, we, ourselves, become...THE FOOL!

Pranksters-a-plenty: At least on this day, set aside for legal pranking. Especially for citizens in Odessa, Ukraine, where it remains a holiday for the city. For all of us, throughout the year, but especially on this day, we will likely refrain "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!" I offer you this as a bonus on this special day, "Fool me thrice, not very nice!" The most memorable for me was when our mother, upon us waking up for school, told us we could go back to sleep as school was closed, followed by, of course, "April fools!" Still a bit traumatized by that. What was your favorite, whether you were the pranked or prankster?

BTW, did ya' know, that Turkey was the last country to adopt the new/Gregorian calendar? Makes me wonder whether it's in turn part of the origin of "You turkey!"

Have fun, be careful out there today--don't be a fool!