April Fools Day

Second Grade Program

Calvert High School

Calvert, Texas

I wonder if these children played April Fools pranks

Didn't you just hate to go to school on April Fools Day? There was always some kid who would have to tell you that there was a bug on your back, or that someone liked you who really didn't.

My grandfather liked to joke around as much as anyone, no matter how old he was! One of his favorite things to do was to put his hand on someone's shoulder blade and say, "Guess whose back!" Some people would guess and guess, with no luck. He would finally tell them, "You! Isn't that your back!" And he would have a big chuckle while the poor victim would still be trying to figure out who was back.

So April Fools Day was right up his alley.

We would be concerned about what someone was going to come up with at school and then had to go to town after school and wonder what Grandpa had in store for us. There was the usual bug on the back and your shoes are untied and great fun for Grandpa with us- and the customers.

Daddy also tried with his little jokes, but we didn't fall for them, and he moved on to things he was more interested in.

Grandpa always had some little something to say. I wish that I could remember them all.

When we would measure out material for customers in Conitz Dry Goods Store, on the counter with the tape measure scotch taped to it, he would tell us, (before we cut with the big silver scissors), "Give her a good Methodist measure, now." Meaning to cut off a bit extra for the customer.

That was easy for me! My cuts were so crooked, usually giving the customer a lot more than they asked for, in a big triangular shape! Eventually, I got better at cutting a reasonably straight line. But, I sure did hate for anyone to see those pieces that I cut so crooked. Especially Grandpa! But I had the excuse that I was giving them a "good old Methodist measure"!

As a teacher, I was always glad when April Fools Day came on a weekend! I was so relieved when I could go home where I knew I was safe from any jokes. The kids always managed to work it in, although we tried to keep things pretty tight and busy on that day to keep everyone out of trouble. I just tried to be serious and act like I was not amused the whole day.

I had to laugh at Paul Hutchison's website today. He really pulled a good one! Usually, he posts small paintings of everyday objects like burned matches. Yesterday, he posted a photo of himself in his studio with a huge painting that he said he was thinking about going to rather than the small ones. And he asked people what they thought. He got a good response to that as the painting was really striking (can I say that about a painting of a huge burned match!).

Today he said that it was an April Fools joke. The painting was actually small, but, with the help of his computer, he made it look like it was a large painting in his studio.

Postcard From Puniho

I can never think of clever things or jokes. And, sadly, I can't remember but a few of the things that Grandpa used to say and do.

Hope that you had a good chuckle or two today, not at someone else's expense of course.

The old movie station has been showing old movies with the word Fool in them. I liked "My Foolish Heart" with Susan Hayward and Dana Andrews. They had some really old ones from the 1930s that were good, but, when they had silent movies, I just had to turn those off. I can't read what they say unless I sit right in front of the tv. That makes it too hard to keep up with from across the room.

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If you are in this area, be sure to go by the P. David Romei Art Center in College Station to see the art show, "Extracurricular". These are works by area art teachers. There are outstanding artists in this group. The show runs through the month of April.

The reception is Thursday April 3 at 5:30 p.m. Hope to see you there!

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I only know one person, for sure, in the photo above. So, if you recognize the others, or if you have a copy that is labeled, I certainly would appreciate knowing who the rest of the members of this class are. This was probably in the 1930s.

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To see the results of the local 18th World Wide Sketch Crawl last Saturday, scroll down to my Sunday posts and read upward through Monday. I finally was able to get some of our pictures on through a slide show. You can see more of what people did worldwide by going to the Sketch Crawl website. Look under Forums, and click on 18th Sketch Crawl. Look at each post and click where it says results to see what was done. There is some really interesting work on there. Lots of humor too!

Go to http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

I'm anxious to know when the next one will be!

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Wow! I'm so excited! I see by the counter in my sidebar that over 5,000 people around the world have now viewed my blog!

Thanks, everyone, for reading and sharing!

I'm really thrilled that so many people have looked at my art and writing. It is nice to know that someone out there looks at what I am doing.

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