I'm just an old crab with no sense of humor

[beansprouts]

I don't suppose I am the only one...

Around here April 1 is just the day between March 31 and April 2nd. I don't like practical jokes. I read the list of suggestions in the other thread and if somebody played one of these on me, it would probably just tick me off. Maybe it's because my brother was a big-time practical joker and he was downright mean and nasty about it. I don't know.

Maybe it's just that I am tired and sick and feeling cranky...

Anybody else not into the whole April Fools thing?

[LG Gone Wild]

I know, I know, I know quite a few people like them and occasionally, I might laugh. But more often than not, I find them mean-spirited and in poor taste.

:leaving:

[j.griff]

I think they are cruel, and encourage bully-ish behavior. Blech- we don't "do" April Fools here either.

[beansprouts]

I am not saying it's always mean, I am just saying *I* wouldn't appreciate it. My kids, however, would love it if I served them vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce instead of mashed potatoes...

[Joanne]

I do not like those type of "jokes", either. This will sound dramatic, but they are like an assault to me.

[Karin]

I don't like practical jokes, either, but my dh said the kids could do something this year, so we went for funny harmless things. eg my ds put his stuffed tiger in the mixing bowl where dd would see it when she went to mix up the pancakes.

[*anj*]

I do not like those type of "jokes", either. This will sound dramatic, but they are like an assault to me.

Ice cream with caramel sauce is an assault? Seriously?
Or do you mean that the ones like salt in the sugar bowl are an assault?

The ice cream thing or the meat loaves disguised as cupcakes are more sight gags than practical jokes.
Do you mean that anything at all in that category is like an assault to you?
I'm not trying to be snarky. Just trying to get clarity about what you're saying.

[beansprouts]

I can tell you I would have hated the boullion in the shower idea :D

I think for me part of the problem is I tend to take what people say at face value. Then when I find out it is a joke I just feel really stupid. My problem with practical jokes is the idea that people are laughing and making fun of me. This would feel like an assult for me also.

I do agree that jokes can be made in a way that is fun for everyone involved. I think we just need to be careful that our "target" is having fun too.

[Cheryl in NM]

I know, I know, I know quite a few people like them and occasionally, I might laugh. But more often than not, I find them mean-spirited and in poor taste.

:leaving:

ITA! My step-kids used to do the rubber band, kitchen sprayer thing all the time. It made me so mad to get sopping wet! It always seemed in school that the jokes were just mean-spirited. I've never gotten into the April Fools thing. I tend to stay home and hide. My family knows better than to do anything.

[Diana in OR]

I'm an old grouch, I guess then, too. :mad: Personally, I'm not thrilled with anything that causes me extra work, discomfort, or to lose sleep (don't ask).

I have a bil who thinks destructive pranks are funny. Dh and I had to go to greath lengths when we got married to protect our car.

[Old Dominion Heather]

Boy... April Fool's Day is my ABSOLUTE favorite holiday. Maybe you just have to have a family that is into the whole joke thing.

I'm planning to call my mom in a bit and tell her that my sister thinks she is pregnant. Last year the kids and I told my dh that the dog had run off down the street and he went tearing out after her in shorts. This morning my oldest got me first by telling me there was a wasp in his room. Ds6 is going around "scaring" evryone with fake dog poop and fake hairy spiders.

Even my grandmother gets in on the action. It is all in good fun. We all really enjoy it, but I don't play jokes on people that I know won't get it. And we have a rule that the boys can't trick younger siblings.

[Colleen]

...but it doesn't encompass practical jokes and the general April Fool's Day fare.

[LG Gone Wild]

:tongue_smilie:

This will sound dramatic, but they are like an assault to me.

That is an apt description. :iagree:

[GothicGyrl]

I know my limits and will play jokes on those I know who will appreciate them. Otherwise, I don't get to have any fun.

But since this is the 4 year anniversary of my brother's death(and that isn't a joke--www.ourfallenbrother.com) My mom and I no longer play jokes on each other like we used to and I miss it. :(

[Myrtle]

I'm soliciting fellow pranksters to help me rickroll (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickroll) someone. One. More. Time. I've gotten Charon three times today and I don't think he'll fall for it from me again. PM me.

[Joanne]

We all really enjoy it, but I don't play jokes on people that I know won't get it. And we have a rule that the boys can't trick younger siblings.

Quote not mine; bold mine.

The "we all really enjoy it" is key. I'm not against practical jokes across the board (although I don't understand the appeal). I'm against assuming everyone likes and enjoys them.

On the "know won't get it", I assure you I am quick on the uptake. There are several kinds of humor I adore. Practical jokes aren't part of them. Like I stated earlier, they are invasive to me, and make me feel assaulted. Truly.

[Jenny in Florida]

. . . especially the ones that create messes or dashed expectations.

But, then again, I'm the one who still remembers how traumatic it was to find out there was no Santa Claus. I felt betrayed and humiliated that my parents had lied to me for all those years. So, maybe I'm just a bit over-sensitive about these things.

[OnTheBrink]

I love a good joke; however, I rarely play them and if I do, it's only on someone who'd get it and think it's funny. I wouldn't enjoy a joke that got me wet, dirty, or caused me extra work and I don't play those kinds of jokes, either.

[abbeyej]

I think practical jokes *can* be very funny -- but not the ones that single someone out to make them feel stupid, or disappoint someone, or that are destructive in any way... I really hate those.

I loved the one on NarniaWeb (last year? the year before?) that said Mr. T had been cast as Reepicheep in Prince Caspian and included new artwork from the movie. It was so very nearly plausible, so totally ridiculous, so carefully done, and I doubt anyone got truly hurt by it.

I've made the meatloaf-and-mashed potato cupcakes for dh before, and the kids thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. (And dh was just as happy to have homemade meatloaf and mashed potatoes as he would have been to have cupcakes for dinner, lol.)

I think, like everything else in life, it's a matter of asking what is right and kind to do. A joke that will make everyone involved smile is lovely. One that will hurt or disappoint someone or make a gross mess, well, who does that lift up?

[Jean in Newcastle]

My dd6 would agree with you. She was in tears when she found out that the juice she was looking forward to drinking at lunch was just water with food coloring. . . But she thinks it is hilarious to tell me over and over again that it is snowing outside!

[Mamagistra]

A joke that will make everyone involved smile is lovely.

:001_smile::001_smile::001_smile::001_smile:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o178/YardbirdTX/redneck.jpg

[j.griff]

Oh you're so MEAN!!!!!!!!!!! That didn't make ME smile! Am *I* not included in "everybody"? <sniff sniff>

[Mamagistra]

Oh you're so MEAN!!!!!!!!!!! That didn't make ME smile! Am *I* not included in "everybody"? <sniff sniff>

:grouphug:

[j.griff]

:D Happy April Fools!!!!!!!!

[beansprouts]

It's so nice to see Uncle Jim is back again :001_smile: